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MORE ABOUT 



THE 



BLACK BASS 



BEING A 



SUPPLEMENT 



BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS 



JAMES A.* HEKSHALL, M.D 



^KllVf %XX\xstxxtztl 



EGBERT CLAEKE & CO 
CINCINNATI 

1889 



a^ 






Copyright, 1889, 

BY 

JAMES A. HENSHALL. 



By transfer 

U. S. Soldiers Home Lib. 

JUL 14 1936 



ANGLING GUILD 

OF 

AMERICA, 

FROM THE URCHIN WITH PIN- HOOK AND WILLOW WAND — THE STILL- 
FISHER WITH "PEELED SAPLING" AND "CORK" — TO THE 
ARTISTIC FLY-FISHER WITH ROD AND CREEL. 

THIS BOOK IS 

FRATERNALLY INSCRIBED 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 






PREFACE. 



The very flattering reception accorded to the Book of 
the Black Bass, and the favorable notices and encomiums 
it has received from naturalists, and anglers, and the press, 
and its success as a literary enterprise (for all of which I 
am profoundly grateful), has induced and encouraged me to 
bring its subject-matter down to date. 

For obvious reasons, I have thought it best, beyond the 
correction of a few clerical and typographical errors, to let 
the original edition remain intact, and to issue the addi- 
tional matter in a separate volume in the form of a supple- 
ment or sequel — the supplemental chapters agreeing in 
number and caption with those in the original edition. 

The plan pursued in the original book, of illustrating the 
tools and tackle, by using cuts that have been especially pre- 
pared for manufacturers, to illustrate their specialities in 
that line, has been so much commended by anglers gener- 
ally, and has proved so desirable a feature, that it has been 
adhered to in the supplement. 

For the new portrait of myself, my publishers are alone 
responsible. It is an exact reproduction of an excellent 
photograph. 

JAMES A. HENSHALL. 

Cincinnati, December, 1888. 

(v) 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PABT PIBST. 

Terminology, Morphology, and Physiology. 
fHAPTEB I -Scientific History or the Black BASS-Nomen- 
ofaUrseU.ed_Linn.ean specimens-Lacepede's, and Cuv.er and 
vZciennes. specimens-Identification hy the author of typo 

CHlpTEK n iT.-N0MEK0LA T i IK E a™ MoRPHOLOGY-Generic ehar- 
CHAP1EK i descriptions of additional authors, 15 

CU^ul-Lr^ A,- D SPECIAL FEATURES 0E THE BLACK 

CH BaI-b"k Bass of Texas and Arhansas-ComparaUve Garne 

CH aS^ 

CH SEBVrrGR^"--T I o N -Ori g inamahitat-Bres 

CHAPTER VI. UAB Building-Food and Growth- 

Experiences m bass-cuiture x>« 4g 

Food of Young and Adult-HiternaUon " J,^ ht 

CHAPTEK VII.-INTELLIGEKCE A»n Special Senses Smel ^ 
-Optics of Angling-Heanng, . ^ ^ Blacr 

c^MB^vm^^^^'^^,,,,. in England _ 

BASS-Transportation of BlacK n ** ^ 

In Germany-In Scotland-In Holland, . 

PART SECOND. 

Tools, Tackle, and Implements. 
CHAPTEK IX.-PISHING .^^K^^SSS 
S£StES ^rXsipiy Bods-HenshaU Eiy 

Rod— Steel Rods, . • • . -r> eels _ciick Keels 

CHAPTER X.-Fishing REELS-Improvements in Keels o 
LiiArir.-v a. Various Makers, . »» 

-Multiplying Reels-^ew heels or v Bait-Fishing-Hen- 

PHAPTEK XI -Fishing Lisss-New Lines for Bait jmsd g 
C lhall Lint-Lines for Fly-Fishing-Metal Center Lines, 101 



V1U TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XII.-Silkwobm GuT-Experiments with American Silk- 
CHAPTEP Xm ati ; 6 Sil ^ 0rms - L -^rs-Snells, or Snoods, 105 
CHAPTER ^HI-Fish Hooxs-Eyed Hooks-Numbering Hooks- 
Snelhng and Tying Hooks, . 

CHAPTER XIV^-Artieicial FLiEs-Killing Flies l Ta bIe' of Flies 
— Henshall's Flies— Fluttering Fly, . 119 

CHAPTER XV.- Artificial Baits-Le volution of Trolling Spoons- 
Triple Hook Hammered Spoons-Artificial Minnows-Adjustable 
*ly Spoon— Artificial Mouse, . 19 

CHAPTER XVI.-Natural BAiTS-Nomenclature-Minnows, Chubs 
and. fcnmers, . ""' 

CHAPTER XVII.- Miscellaneous Implements!^ ' Books- 
Buckl A eS T L " t g ^ ets - Dis ^^rs and Extractors-Minnow 
Boats ! S ~ R ° d H ° lder - Wadi »S Shoes-Fishing 

• • • . 131 

PART THIRD. 

Angling and Fly-Fishlng 

CHAPTER XVIII.-The P HIlosOTHT 0F AN0LING _ An „, inf , as 
Art-Beauties and Love of Angling S S an 

CHAPTER XIX.-Co™ ITIONS Gov™ THE Bmm of ™ 
When F.shes Feed-Best Time for Anglinc ~ 

CHAPTER XX.-The B LACK B.ss J a g ame PrsH _ Why £ 
W Trent is Disappear! ng-The Survival ef the Eittest-T e 
Back Bass not P 1S e.voro U s- Comparison of Salmon, Trout and 
Black Bass Fishing, ' ,ina 

CHAPTER XXI._ FlY . FlsHIN0 l F|y . FisM - for Bla • 16o 

em Art-General Instruotiens-Adviee-On Streams-On lakes 
A Reminiscence, -u^kcs— 

CHAPTER XXII.-Castixo the Jtaow-CapabiliUes of 'the w" 
now-Casting Rod-Masoalonge-Red-Fish-Tarno P , 

CHAPTER XXIII.-S TILL -E I sH, K o-An g .ing „f' ou Bovhood ™ 
Happy Stdl Eisher-A Retrospection oynooo-lne 

CHAPTER XXIV._ T ROLLi KG _T,olling at Gogebielpot kv ^ 
Fishing for Count-Murderous Sportsmen, = ™™b™Z- 

CHAPTER OTS™„ AND Bo BEIKG -Bobbi„g , ' Flor £ 
Site -rr' . 8 -- J -*— - droning, Bobbing ^ 

CHAPTER XXVI.-Cokclubing RemIeks-A Labor of We Th" 
Reward of Labor-The Last Cast We-The 



PART I. 

TERMINOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY, 

AND 

PHYSIOLOGY. 



SUPPLEMENT 



BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



CHAPTER I. 

SCIENTIFIC HISTORY OF THE BLACK BASS. 

I may be pardoned for referring to the fact that the 
restoration of Lacepede's names for the Black Bass species, 
as proposed by me, viz.: Micropterus dolomieu for the small- 
mouthed Bass, and Micropterus salmoides for the large- 
mouthed Bass, has been fully concurred in and adopted by 
the ichthyologists connected with the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion at Washington, the Museum of Comparative Zoology 
at Cambridge, the Indiana University at Bloomington, and 
of other institutions. 

These names are, as Professor Goode says, "grounded 
upon a firm foundation of priority," and can not now be 
changed, unless older names should be discovered, which 
does not seem probable. 

In this connection, it is interesting to note that Linnaeus 
had two specimens of the large-mouthed Black Bass sent 
to him by Dr. Garden, of Charleston, S. C, some thirty 
years before Bosc sent his drawing and description of the 

(11) 



12 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

same species to Lacepede ; but Linne failed to describe 
them. 

"Alexander Garden,* one of the earliest American natural- 
ists, was a physician, resident in Charleston, South Carolina, in 
the middle of the last century. He was an enthusiastic collector, 
and in constant correspondence with the great Swedish natural- 
ist, many of his letters, with the accompanying notes upon his 
collections, being preserved in the two volumes of Smiths ' Cor- 
respondence of Linnaeus.' 

"He was more especially a botanist, and his contributions 
to science in that department are fitly commemorated by the 
name Gardenia, applied by Linnseus, in his honor, to the beauti- 
ful Cape Jessamine. He collected, also, reptiles and fishes, and 
was so careful and conscientious a preparator that almost all of 
the fishes sent by him to Sweden are still in existence, though 
the other fishes upon which Linne worked are in a much less sat- 
isfactory state of preservation, and most of them, indeed, have 
gone to destruction. 

"Garden's method was to skin half of the fish, leaving the 
vertical fins attached, to press it in a botanical press, varnish it, 
and glue it to a sheet of herbarium paper. 

"These specimens are preserved in the rooms of the Linna3an 
Society of London, in Burlington House, in connection with the 
Linnsean herbarium and library. 

"In the summer of 1883, by the courtesy of Dr. William 
Murie, librarian of the Linnsean Society, we were permitted to 
make a careful study of the Linna3an fishes, and especially of the 
American forms, which were, as has been remarked, almost all 
collected by Garden, and which were named and described by 

*On the American Fishes in the Linnsean Collection By G 
Brown Goode and Tarleton H. Bean. <Proc. U, S. Nat. Mus., 1885^ 
iyo. 



SCIENTIFIC HISTORY OF THE BLACK BASS. 



13 



Linne, in the tenth and twelfth editions of his Systema Na- 
tures. 

"Linne had two examples of the large-month Black Bass from 
Garden (Nos. 8 and 40, Garden), but he does not seem to have 
described the species. 

"For No. 8, see Correspondence with Linne, 311 ; for 40, see 
page 306. 

" No. 40 is labeled thus by Garden : 



• No. 40. 
Labrus. 
Nostralib. 

FRESH-WATER TROUT. 



Since the publication of the " Book of the Black Bass/' 
I have had the pleasure of personally examining the orig- 
inal type specimens of the Black Bass species in the Mu- 
seum D'Histoire Naturelle, in the Jardin des Plantes, at 
Paris. 

Lacepede's type specimen of M. dolomieu, the small- 
mouthed Bass (referred to on pp. 12 and 41),* is a fine 
example, about a foot in length, and is in a remarkably 
good state of preservation. It is undoubtedly a small- 
mouthed Bass. 

The two specimens sent to the museum by Milbert (pp. 
14 and 43), and from one of which the figure in Cuvier and 
Valenciennes' " Histoire Naturelle des Poissons " was 
taken, are both large-mouthed Bass, one being fully eight, 
and the other about six inches in length. 

The four specimens from the Wabash river, sent to the 



*Book of the Black Bass, 1881. 



14 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

museum by Le Sueur (pp. 14 and 43), are all small-mouthed 
Bass, the largest being at least fifteen inches in length, and 
the others about one-third as long. 

I am very glad to have had the opportunity, with Hon. 
N. Longworth, of Cincinnati (an old Black Bass angler), 
of verifying Dr. Jordan's identification of these specimens, 
referred to in his paper on page 41. 



CHAPTER II. 

NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY. 



Genus MICROPTERUS Lacepede. 

ADDITIONAL SYNONOMY AND REFERENCES. 

Grystes Gunther, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus., i, 252, 1859. 
Huro Gunther, Cat. Fishes Brit. Mus., i, 255, 1859. 
Grystes Gunther, Iutro. Study of Fishes, 392, 1880. 
Huro Gunther, Intro. Study of Fishes, 393, 1880. 
Micropterus Cope, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., xvii, 32, 1880. 
Micropterus Cope, Kept. Pa. Fish Com., 130, 1881. 
Micropterus Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. A., 484, 1882. 
Micropterm Jordan, Geol. Surv. Ohio, iv, 942, 1882. 
Micropterus Gill, Standard Nat. Hist., iii, 230, 1885. 
Micropterus Jordan, Manual Vertebrates, 120, 1888. 

Generic Characterizations. 

Grystes Gunther, 1880. — ''Body oblong, covered with scales 
of moderate size. All the teeth villiform, without canines; teeth 
on the vomer and palatine bones. One dorsal fin with ten spines ; 
anal with three ; caudal fin rounded. Prseoperculum with a 
single smooth margin. One species, from the fresh waters of the 
United States (G. sahnonoides) , attains to a length of more than 
two feet. It is known by the name of ' Growler,' and eaten." — 
(Gunther, Introduction to Study of Fishes, 393, 1880.) 

Huro Gimther, 1880. — "Body oblong, Compressed, covered 
with scales of moderate size. All the teeth villiform ; bones of 

(15) 



16 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

the head without serrature. Mouth rather oblique, with the 
lower jaw projecting. Two dorsal fins, the first with six spines. 

"The 'Black Bass' of Lake Huron (Huro nigricans.)" — (Gun- 
ther, Intro. Study of Fishes, 393, 1880. 

Micropterus Cope, 1880. — " I may add here that it seems 
that the name and characters of the genus Micropterus were based 
on a monstrous or mutilated specimen. The characters thus de- 
rived were false and absurd. Under ordinary circumstances, this 
name should be relegated to the limbo of undeterminable myths. 
The next name in order is Calliurus Raf., which is only applica- 
ble to young fishes of this genus, and was almost as badly char- 
acterized as Micropterus. This name should, however, be adopted, 
as its characters were drawn from normal objects. As, however, 
Micropterus has obtained some currency, and as the name Calliu- 
rus is peculiarly false in significance, I retain the former provis- 
ionally."— (Cope, Bull, tl S. Nat. Mus., xvii, 32, 1880.) 

Micropterus Cope, 1881. — " This genus embraces only two 
well-marked species, which are found every-where in eastern 
North America south and west of the Potomac river. They ap- 
proach the Labraces in form, but are most like the extinct genus 
Miopbsus, from the eocene of the Rocky Mountains, in the struct- 
ure of their fins and other parts." — (Cope, Fishes of Pa. <^Rept. 
Pa. Fish Com., 130, 1881.) 

Micropterus Jordan, 1882. — "Body elongate-ovate, com- 
pressed, the back not much elevated. Head oblong-conic. 
Mouth very large, oblique, the broad maxillary reaching nearly 
to or beyond the posterior margin of the eye, its supplemental 
bone well developed. Lower jaw prominent. Teeth on jaws, 
vomer and palatines ; usually none on the tongue. Preopercle 
entire ; operculum ending in two flat points, without cartilagin- 
ous flap. Branchiostegals normally 6. Scales rather small, 
weakly ctenoid. Lateral line continuous. Dorsal fin divided by 
a deep notch, the spines low and rather feeble, 10 in number ; 
anal spines 3 ; the anal fin much smaller than the dorsal ; caudal 



NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY. 17 

fin emarginate. Size large. Two species, among the most im- 
portant of American ' game-fishes.'" — (Jordan and Gilbert, 
Sfjn. Fishes N. A. <CBvll. U. S. Nat. Mus., xvi, 484, 1882.) 

Micropterus Jordan, 1882. — (Same description as the pre- 
ceding one.)— (Jordan, Geol. Surv. Ohio, iv, 942, 1882.) 

Micropterus Gill, 1885. — "This genus is distinguished by 
the comparatively elongate form of the body, the low dorsal, and 
especially the slight development of the spines, which decrease 
to the soft portion, leaving a considerable emargination between 
the bulk of the spinous and the soft portions. The operculum 
has a spiniform projection ; the mouth is large, and the caudal 
emarginated." — (Gill, Standard Nat. Hist., iii, 230, 1885.) 



MICROPTERUS DOLOMIEU Lacepede 

THE SMALL-MOUTHED BLACK BASS. 

ADDITIONAL SYNONOMY AND REFERENCES. 

1876 — Micropteru i salmoides Nelson, Bull. Ills. State Lab. Nat. 

Hist, i, 37. 
Micropterus salmoides Goode, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., xiv, 

49, 1879. 
Micropterus salmoides Goode, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., xviii, 

28, 1880. «■* 

Micropterus salmoides Bean, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus., iii, 96, 

1880. 
Micropterus salmoides Cope, Kept. Pa. Fish Com., 130 

1881. 
1881 — Micropterus dolomieu McKay, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus. 

iv, 93. 
Micropterus dolomieu Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. Fishes 

N. A., 485, 1882. 
Micropterus dolomieu Jordan, Geol. Surv. Ohio, iv. 948, 

1882. 



18 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS 

Miwopterw dokmiei Bean, Bull. U. S. Nat, Mus., xxvii, 

464, 502, 1883. 
Micropterus dolomiei Jordan aud Swain, Pro. U. S. Nat: 

Mus., vi, 249, 1883. 
Micropterus dolomiei Bean, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus., vi, 365, 

1883. 
Micropterus dolomiei Goode, Fish. Industries U. S., see. i, 

401, 1884. 
Micropterus dolomiei Forbes, Kept. Ills. Fish Com., 67, 

1884. 
Micropterus dolomieu Gill, Standard Nat, Hist., iii, 231, 

1885. 
Micropterus dolomiei Jordan, Cat. Fishes N. A., 17, 1885. 
Micropterus dolomiei Von dem Borne, Die Fischzucht, 

148, 1885. 
Micropterus dolomiei Jordan and Meek, Pro. TJ. S. Nat. 

Mus., viii, 7, 1885. 
Micropterus dolomiei Eigenmann and Fordice, Pro. Ac. 

Nat. Sci. Phil, 411, 1885. 
Micropterus dolomiei Jordan and Gilbert, Pro. U. S. 

Nat. Mus., ix, 5, 12, 1886. 
Micropterus dolomieu Mather, Colvin Adirond. Surv., 

Fishes, 5, 1886. 
Micropterus dolomiei Evermann, Bull. Brook. Soc. Nat. 

Hist., ii, 7, 1886. 
Micropterus dolomiei Evermann and Bollman, Ann. N. 

Y. Lye. Nat. Hist., 339, 1886. 
Micropterus dolomieu Jordan and Evermann, Ind. Agric. 

Kept., 13, 1886. 
Micropterus dolomieu Yon dem Borne, Schwarzbarseh, 

etc., 3, 1886. 
Micropterus dolomiei Goode, American Fishes, 54, 1888. 
Micropterus dolomieu Jordan, Manual Yertebrates, 120, 

1888. 



NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY. 19 

Specific Descriptions. 
Micropterus salmoides Nelson, 1876.-" Like the proced- 
ing \M. nigricans], found in all parts of the state, and in nearly 
equal numbers."-(N E LSON, Partial Cat. Fishes Ills. <Bull. 
Bis. State Lab. Nat. Hist, i, 37, 1876.) 

Micropterus salmoides Cope, 1881. -" Small-mouthed ; 
scales of trunk small (e. g., lot. line, 72-75; between lateral line 
and back, 11 rows). Scales on nape and breast much smaller 
than those of sides. Scales of cheeks minute (e. g., between or- 
bit and preoperculum, about 17 rows in an oblique line and 
about 9 in a horizontal one). Scales of interopereulum timse- 
rial covering only about half the width of the bone. Scales of 
preopercular limb none. Scales on dorsal developed as a deep 
Lath (involving last spine) of small scales differentiated from 
those on the back, and with series advancing high up the mem- 
brane behind each ray (except last two or three). Scales on anal 
ascending high behind each ray. Mouth moderate. Supramax- 
illary ending considerably in front of hinder margin of orbit 
(about under hinder border of pupil). Dorsal rays articulated, 
13 ; anal, HI, 10-11 1 pectoral, I, 16-1, 17. Dorsal fin little 
depressed, the ninth spine being only about a halt shorter than 
the longest (3, 4, 5), and a fourth shorter ^ntiie tenth. - 
(COPE, Fishe* of Pa. <Rept. Pa. ^f^^l^^ 

Micropterus dolomieu Jordan and Gilbert, 1882.- Body 
ovate-fusiform, becoming deeper with age. Head large. Mouth 
large, but smaller than- in M. salmMes, the maxillary ending con- 
siderably in front of the hinder margin of the orbit. Scales on 
the cheek minute, in about 17 rows; scales on the trunk compar- 
atively small. Dorsal fin deeply notched, but less so than in M 
ILL, the ninth spine being about half as long -£*-»* 
and not much shorter than the tenth. Coloration quite Viable 
the young dull golden-green, with bronze luster; darker spot, 
In^he'sides, which tend to form short vertical bars, but never 



20 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

a dark lateral band ; 3 bronze bands radiating from eye across 
cheeks and opercles ; a dusky spot on point of operculum ; belly 
white ; caudal fin yellowish at base, then black, with white tips ; 
dorsal with bronze spots, its edge dusky. In some waters the fin- 
markings are obsolete, but usually they are very conspicuous in 
the young. Southern specimens usually have the scales of the 
lower part of the sides with faint dark streaks; adult specimens 
have all these marks more or less wholly obliterated, and become 
ultimately of a uniform dead-green, without silvery luster. Head 
3J; depth 3J. D. X, 13; A. Ill, 10 or 11 ; Scales 11-74-17. 
Rivers of the United States, from the Great Lake region to South 
Carolina and Arkansas ; abundant, frequenting running streams, 
and preferring clear and cool waters ; its southern limit is bounded 
by the presence of such waters. As a game-fish this species is 
usually more highly valued than its congener." — (Jordan and 
Gilbert, Syn. Fishes N. A. <^Bull. U. S. Nat. 3Ius., xvi, 485, 
1882.) 

Micropterus dolomieu Jordan, 1882. — (Same description 
as the preceding one.) — (Jordan, Geol. Surv. Ohio, iv, 948, 
1882.) 

Micropterus dolomiei Bean, 1883. — "This is a beautiful 
and hardy game fish, extensively taken by artificial as well as 
natural baits, and largely sold in the markets." — (Bean, Bull. 
U. S. Nat. Mus., xxvii, 464, 1883.) 

Micropterus dolomiei Goode, 1884. — "The small-mouth is 
found north to latitude 47° and west to Wisconsin, while south- 
ward it ranges to latitude 33°, where Professor Jordan found it 
in the headwaters of the Chattahoochee and Ocmulgee rivers, the 
latter being the only instance of its presence in a stream empty- 
ing east of the Alleghanies into which it is not known to have 
been introduced by man." — (Goode, Fishery Industries of U. S., 
sec. i, 401, 1884. V 

Micropterus dolomiei Forbes, 1884. — "Abundant in rivers 
and larger creeks, but occurring more rarely in lakes, preferring 



NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY. 21 

swifter water than the preceding [other] species. It occurs 
throughout Illinois, but is relatively rare to the southward. Has 
been taken by us in the Wabash and some other of its larger 
tributaries, but not elsewhere south of the Illinois river." — 
(Forbes, Gat. Native Fishes Ills. <^Rept. Ills. State Fish Com, 
67, 1884) 

Micropterus dolomieu Gill, 1885. — "The small-mouthed 
Black Bass has the mouth comparatively small, and the maxillary 
of the adult does not extend beyond the orbit ; the scales are con- 
siderably smaller, there being seventy-two to seventy-five along 
the lateral line, and as many as ten or twelve rows between the 
lateral line and back. It does not extend north of the region of 
the great lakes, and is not known to reach farther south than 
South Carolina and Arkansas. In most places it is associated 
with the large-mouthed species. It does not, as a rule, reach as 
large a size as its relative." — (Gill, Standard Nat. Hist., vol. iii, 
231, 1885.) 

Micropterus dolomieu Mather, 1886. — "The small-mouth 
was introduced into Brown's tract inlet, flowing into Racquette 
lake, some years ago, by the New York Fish Commission, and 
now they are plentiful in the lake and are working down into 
Forked lake and tow T ard Long lake. . . . There is a preva- 
lent theory that this species is ' gamier' than its cousin, the big- 
mouth or ' Oswego' Bass, an opinion that I am not prepared to 
indorse, as I have found but little difference between them when 
both were under two pounds weight." — (Mather, Colvin's Adi- 
rond. Surv.j Fishes, 5, 1886.) 

Micropterus dolomieu Jordan and Evermann, 1886. — 
" This species is usually placed first among the game fishes of 
the state. It frequents clear waters, especially those with some 
current, and is averse to mud. It is much less frequently found 
in ponds than the large-mouthed Bass." — (Jordan and Ever- 
mann, Ind. Agric. Report, 13, 1886.) 

Micropterus dolomiei Goode, 1888. — "The oldest name for 



22 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS, 

the large-mouth is Micropterus salmoides; and for the small- 
mouth, as Heushall has proved, Micropterus dolomiei. It is hoped 
that this decision, which is grounded upon a firm foundation of 
priority, may be permitted to stand unchanged." — (Goode, Amer- 
ican Fishes, 54, 1888.) 

Micropterus dolomxeu Jordan, 1888. — " Body ovate-oblong, 
growing deep with age ; scales on the cheek small, in about 17 
rows ; dorsal less deeply notched than in the next \_M. salmoides] ; 
the ninth spine about half as long as the longest. Coloration 
variable; the young dull golden -green, with darker spots on 
sides, which tend to cluster in short vertical bars ; three bronze 
bauds across cheeks ; caudal yellowish, next black, with a white 
tip ; dorsal with bronze spots. Adult nearly uniform olive-green. 
Head, 3J; depth 3J. D. X, 13. A. Ill, 10. Scales, 10 or 
11-72 to 75-17. L. 1 to 2 feet ; weight, 2 to 7 pounds."— (Jor- 
dan, Manual of Vertebrates, 120, 1888.) 



MICROPTERUS SALMOIDES (Lac.) Henshall. 
THE LARGE-MOUTHED BLACK BASS. 

ADDITIONAL SYNONOMY AND REFERENCES. 

1849 — Grystes salmoides Holbrook, Cat. Fauna and Flora. 

^Statistics of Ga., 16. 
Micropterus salmoides McKay, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus., iv, 

93, 1881. 
Micropterus salmoides Goode and Bean, Pro. U. S. Nat. 

Mus., v, 238, 1882. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. Fishes 

N. A., 484, 1882. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan, Geol. Surv. Ohio, iv, 952, 

1882. 
Micropterus salmoides Hay, Bull. U. S. Fish Com., ii, 64, 

1882. 



NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY, 23 

Micropterus salmoides Bean, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., xxvii, 

446, 502, 1883, 
Micropterus salmoides Goode, Fish. Industries U. S., sec. 

i, 401, 1884. 
Micropterus salmoides Gilbert, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus. vii, 

204, 209, 1884. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan, Pro. U. 8. Nat. Mus., vii, 

320, 1884. 
Micropterus salmoides Forbes, Kept. Ills. Fish Com., 67, 

1884. 
Micropterus saimoides Gill, Standard Nat. Hist., iii, 231, 

1885. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan, Cat. Fishes N. A., 17, 

1885. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Meek, Pro. U. S. Nat. 

Mus., viii, 14, 16, 17, 1885. 
Micropterus salmoides Goode and Bean, Pro. U. S. Nat. 

Mus., viii, 208, 1885. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Gilbert, Pro. U. S. 

Nat. Mus., ix, 21, 1886. 
Micropterus salmoides Bo llm an, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus., ix, 

464, 1886. 
Micropterus salmoides Evermann, Bull. Brook. Soc. Nat, 

Hist., ii, 7, 1886. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Evermann, Ind. Agric. 

Kept, 13, 1886. 
Micropterus salmoides Jenkins, Hoosier Naturalist, 95, 

1886. 
Micropterus salmoides Von dem Borne, Schwarzbarsch, 

etc., 3, 1886. 
Micropterus salmoides Goode, American Fishes, 54, 1888. 
Micropterus salmoides Jordan, Manual Vertebrates, 120, 

1888. 



24 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

1S76 — Micropterus nigricans Nelson, Bull. Ills. State Lab. Nat. 

Hist , i, 36. 
1879 — Micropterus pallidus Goode, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 
xiv, 49. 
Micropterus pallidus Goode, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., xviii, 

28, 1880. 
Micropterus pallidus Bean, Pro. XL S. Nat. Mus., iii, 96, 

1880. 
Micropterus pallidus Hay, Pro. U. S. Nat. Mus. iii, 497, 

1880. 
Micropterus pallidus Cope, Kept. Pa. Fish Com., 131, 
1881. 
1880 — Micropterus floridanus Cope, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 

xvii, 31. 
1885 — Micropterus salmonoides Von dem Boene, Fischzucht, 148. 

Specific Descriptions. 

Micropterus nigricans Nelson, 1876. — "Found in great 
abundance throughout the state [Illinois], as far as I can learn. 
The young are found in myriads in the ditches draining the 
marshes along the Calumet river." — (Nelson, Cat. Fishes Ills. 
<^Bull. Ills. State Lab. Nat Hist, i, 36, 1876.) 

Micropterus pallidus Hay, 1880. — "This species is abun- 
dant every- where [in Mississippi], and is esteemed as one of the 
best food fishes. It is called "Trout," instead of "Bass," as at 
the North. The young are conspicuously marked by a dark, 
sometimes interrupted, lateral band. This is sometimes found 
also in the adults. There is often a small patch of feeble teeth 
on the tongue of both this species and M. salmoides [M. dolomieu~]. , ' > 
—(Hay, Pro. U. S. Nat Mus., iii, 497, 1880.) 

Micropterus floridanus Cope, 1880. — "It appears then, 
that the only important character which distinguishes the Texan 
form from the Floridian is the much smaller size of the cheek 
scales. I do -not know how constant this character will prove. 



NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY. 25 

Perhaps some of the names recently given to the Mexican forms 
may be applicable to a variety so defined. The Llano [Texas] 
fish is rather light colored ; and there is a dusky line along the 
middle of each row of scales, which are especially distinct below 
the lateral line."— (Cope, Bull U. S. Nat Mas., xvii, 32, 
1881.) 

Micropterus pallidus Cope, 1881. — " Large mouthed. 
Scales of trunk moderate (e. g. , lat. line, 65-70 ; between lateral 
line and back, 1\ or 8 rows). Scales on nape and breast scarcely 
(on nape), or not much (on breast), smaller than those of sides. 
Scales of cheeks moderately small (e. g., between orbit and pre- 
operculum, about ten rows in an oblique line and about 5-6 in 
a horizontal one). Scales of interoperculum uniserial, covering 
the entire width of the bone. Scales of preopercular limb de- 
veloped in an imperfect row (e. g., 3-5 in number). Scales on 
dorsal developed as a low (obsolete) shallow sheath, and with 
series ascending comparatively little on membrane behind the 
rays (none behind last five or six). Scales on anal none (or 
very few). Mouth large. Supramaxillary extending consid- 
erably behind the posterior margin of orbit. Dorsal rays ar- 
ticulated, 12 (I, 11) ; anal, III, 10 ; pectoral, I, 14 (1, 14). 
Dorsal fin much compressed [depressed?], the ninth spine being 
only about a fourth as long as the longest, and half as long as 
the tenth." — (Cope, Fishes of Pa. <^Rept. Pa. Fish Com., 131, 
1881.) 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Gilbert, 1882.—" Body 
ovate-fusiform, becoming deeper with age, moderately com- 
pressed. Head large. Mouth very wide, the maxillary in the 
adult reaching beyond the eye ; in the young shorter. Scales on 
the cheek in about 10 rows ; scales on the trunk comparatively 
large. Lingual teeth sometimes present. Dorsal fin very deeply 
notched. Coloration of the young dark-green above ; sides and 
below greenish-silvery; a blackish stripe along the sides from 
3 



26 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

opercle to the middle of the caudal fin ; three dark oblique stripes 
across the cheeks and opercles ; below and above the lateral band 
some dark spott ; caudal fin pale at base, then blackish, whitish 
at tip ; belly white. As the fish grows older the black lateral 
band breaks up and grows fainter, and the color becomes more 
and more of a uniform pale, dull green, the back being darker ; 
a dark opercular blotch usually present. Head 3J ; depth 3. 
D. X, 13 ; A. Ill, 11 ; scales 8-68-16. L. 1-2 feet. Kivers 
of the United States, from the Great Lakes and Red river of the 
North to Florida and Texas ; every-where abundant, preferring 
lakes, bayous, and sluggish w T aters. It grows to a larger size than 
the next species [M. dolomieii], and is readily distinguished by its 
coloration and the larger mouth and larger scales. Both species 
vary much with different waters." — (Jordan and Gilbert, Syn. 
Fishes N. A. <CBulL U. S. Nat. Mm., xvi, 484, 1882.) 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan, 1882. — (Description same 
as the preceding.) — (Jordan, Fishes of Ohio. <^Geol. Surv. 
Ohio, iv, 952, 1882.) 

Micropterus salmoides Hay, 1882. — "An abundant fish 
every-where [Lower Mississippi Valley]. The young are found 
in every pond. ... I have never succeeded in finding in 
the South a specimen of the small-mouthed Black Bass, Micropte- 
rus dolomieii Lac."— (Hay, Bull. U. S. Fish Com., ii, 64, 1882.) 

Micropterus salmoides Bean, 1883. — "This species is gen- 
erally abundant and grows to a larger size than the small-mouthed 
Bass ; it is especially common west of the Alleghanies, and in the 
Southern States ; it is an important food-fish and affords consid- 
erable sport to anglers." — (Bean, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mu*., xxvii, 
446, 1883.) 

Micropterus salmoides Goode, 1<S84. : — "The large-mouth 
rauges farther to the west and north, occurring in the Red River 
of the North, perhaps as far as Manitoba, in latitude 50°. It 
abounds in all the rivers of the Southern States, from the James 
to the St. John, and in the lower reaches of the streams and bay- 



NOMENCLATURE AND MORPHOLOGY. 27 

ous connected with the Gulf of Mexico, around to Texas, in lat- 
itude 27°." — (Goode, Fishery Industries U. S., sec. i, 401, 
1884.) 

Micropterus salomides Forbes, 1884. — " The large-mouthed 
Black Bass favors especially lakes, ponds and sluggish waters, 
but occurs also in rivers and large creeks throughout Illinois. It 
is the common southern form of Black Bass, although perhaps, 
on the whole, no more abundant there than in the northern part 
of the state."— (Forbes, Cat. of Native Fishes Ills. <CEept. IUs. 
State Fish Com., 67, 1884.) 

Micropterus salmoides Gill, 1885. — "The large-mouthed 
Black Bass has the mouth deeply cleft, so that the maxillary of 
the adult extends back of the orbit ; the scales are quite large, 
there being sixty-five to seventy in the lateral line, and the num- 
ber of rows between the lateral line and the back is only seven 
or eight. The distribution of this form is very wide, and it 
extends from the British provinces southward in one direction to 
Florida, and in another direction into Mexico." — (Gill, Stan- 
dard Nat. Hist, vol. iii, 231, 1885.) 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Gilbert, 1886. — "These 
specimens [Texas] agree with northern ones in form and squama- 
tion. The mouth is, however, a little smaller, and the coloration 
is somewhat different. The lateral band is broken up into nu- 
merous irregular dark cross-streaks, which reach the dorsal fin, 
and below this there are very distinct longitudinal streaks follow- 
ing the rows of scales. The caudal fin has narrow cross-streaks 
formed of dark spots." — (Jordan and Gilbert, Pro. U. S. Nat 
Mus., ix, 21, 1886.) 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan and Evermann, 1886. — 
" The young may be known at once by the color, the ground 
being here much paler than in the other [J/, dolomieii], and there 
being a broad blackish band along the sides." — (Jordan and 
Evermann, Food Fishes Ind. <^Ind. Agric. Rept, 13, 1886.) 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan, 1888. — "Body rather 



28 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

deeper and more compressed than in the preceding [Af. dolomieu'], 
growing deeper with age; scales on cheek large, in about 10 
rows ; ninth dorsal spine not half length of longest. Color dark 
green, silvery below ; sides with a broad blackish band in young, 
with some dark spots above and below it ; throe dark stripes 
across cheeks ; caudal pale at base and tip, mesially dusky. 
Adult dull green, nearly plain. Head 3J; depth 3. D. X, 13. 
A. Ill, 11. Scales 8-68-16. L. 1 to 2±- feet; weight 3 to 8 
pounds." — (Jordan, Manual Vertebrates, 120, 1888.) 



CHAPTER III. 
GENERAL AND SPECIAL FEATURES. 

As there is a geographical variation between the small- 
mouthed Bass of the extreme North and South, so also we 
occasionally find a similar variation in the large-mouthed 
Bass of the northern and southern portions of the Missis- 
sippi Valley. 

Prof. Edward D. Cope, when in Texas,* a few years ago, 
took several large -mouthed Bass, which, while agreeing 
in all other features with the same species of the North and 
of Florida, differed somewhat in the smaller size of the 
scales of the cheeks, and in the squamation of the gill- 
covers. They also differed slightly in coloration and 
markings by showing several dusky, longitudinal streaks, 
especially noticeable below the lateral line. 

I observed these several variations, though not quite so 
pronounced, in several large-mouthed Bass taken in the St. 
Francis river, Arkansas, in the autumn of 1885. 

As to a comparison of game qualities, as between the 
small-mouthed Bass and the large-mouthed Bass, I still 
hold that, other things being equal, and where the two spe- 
cies inhabit the same waters, there is no difference in game 
qualities ; for, while the small-mouth is probably more active 
in its movements, the large-mouthed Bass is more power- 



*On the Zoological Position of Texas. By E. D. Cope. <Bull. 

U. S. Nat. Mus.. xvii, 1880, 31. 

(29) 



30 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

ful; and no angler can tell from its manner of "fighting," 
whether he is fast to a large-mouthed or a small-mouthed 
Bass, until he has the ocular evidence. 

But what are the game qualities of a fish ? As I under- 
stand it, they are : its aptitude to rise to the artificial fly, 
its readiness to take a natural bait, and its exhibition of 
strength and cunning, persistence and activity, in its efforts 
to break away after being hooked. 

Both species of Black Bass rise equally well to the arti- 
ficial fly; though, if there be any difference in this respect, 
I think the large-mouthed Bass has the advantage, Re- 
cently I received a letter from Count Von dem Borne, of 
Germany (who has been very successful in introducing and 
propagating the Black Bass in that country), saying that 
he has observed that the large-mouthed Black Bass rises 
better to the artificial fly than the small-mouthed Bass. 
My own experience rather favors this view, and it has like- 
wise been brought to my notice by anglers in various parts 
of the country. 

The current but erroneous opinion that the small-mouthed 
Bass exceeds the large-mouthed Bass in game qualities, has 
been very widespread, and has been much enhanced by the 
indorsement of several of our best ichthyologists, who un- 
fortunately, however, are not, and do not pretend to be, 
anglers, but who imbibed this opinion second-hand from 
prejudiced anglers who ought to have known better. But 
as the Black Bass is becoming better known, and fly-fishing 
for the species is being more commonly practiced, this un- 
fair and unmerited comparison is fast dying out. 

Two or three years ago, the fishery editor of " Forest 
and Stream," Mr. Fred. Mather, solicited the opinions of 
anglers on this subject, from which I select a few from 



GENERAL AND SPECIAL FEATURES. 3 J 

various parts of the country. Mr. Mather inaugurated the 
discussion as follows : 

"We have for many years been of the opinion that the big- 
mouthed Black Bass has been underrated as a game fish, when 
found in Northern waters. About the time when Dr. Gill first 
showed that there were only two species of Black Bass, instead 
of a dozen or so, some one praised the fighting qualities of the 
small-mouth, and deuounced the other as a ' vulgarian,' with no 
dash in him. This has been repeated so often that it is generally 
believed, and the fish has never recovered from the bad name 
given to it, undeservedly, as we think. Last month we were 
Bass fishing with a gentleman who was strongly prejudiced against 
the big-mouth ; but, ou taking a two-pounder, which he declared 
before seeing it must weigh twice that figure, and ' was no big- 
mouth,' he gave in, and acknowledged that there was more fight 
in the fish than he had ever given it credit for." 

In the summer of 1885, I was at Gogebic lake, Wiscon- 
consin, where, among a number of prominent anglers, were 
Dr. F., and Dr. T., both of New York City. Dr. F. has 
had a very extensive angling experience in all parts of the 
country, and Dr. T is well known as a participant in the fly 
and bait-casting contests in the tournaments of the Na- 
tional Rod and Reel Association, at New York. 

Dr. F. was a firm believer in the superior game qualities 
of the small-mouthed Bass, and declared that he could in- 
variably tell what species of Black Bass he had hooked, 
from its manner of " fighting." Dr. T. was confident he 
could not do so. The matter was finally put to a practical 
test, when Dr. F. was forced to acknowledge himself van- 
quished, and that he nor any other angler could make the 
distinction, for one fish was as " gamy " as the other. I 



32 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

might add that this result will be obtained wherever the 
two species exist in the same waters. 

I give the opinions of a few anglers who have fished for 
both species in the same waters, as all other comparisons 
are of no weight. A small-mouthed Bass in a swift, rocky 
stream is, as a matter of course, superior in gameness to a 
large-mouth in a weedy pond, and this holds good as to the 
brook trout or any other game-fish. 

A gentleman (" Opinicon ") of Utica, N. Y«, expresses 
himself as follows : 

"Pound for pound the small-mouth excels its brother, the 
large-mouth, as a game fish, but in this respect only ; taken in 
cold or deep water, the large-mouth Bass, when running from 
two to six pounds, offers to the angler using fine tackle as good 
sport as could be desired. The writer has, from choice, angled 
for the large-mouth in preference to the other, principally for the 
reason that the former were of good size. During the past sum 
mer, while fishing on a lake forming a part of the St. Lawrence 
river, from one side of the skiff could be taken the small-mouth 
of one and a half pounds, and from the other side, in the same 
water, large-mouths, weighing from three to five pounds. These 
fish were full of life and game. 

"The main difference between the two kinds of Black Bass be- 
ing, aside from weight, that when struck, the large-mouth less 
frequently broke water, though they would sulk and fight for 
every inch of line with as much, determination as ever shown by 
the small-mouth, and the angler, having one on his hook had 
business on hand." 

"Kingfisher," of Cincinnati, Ohio, says of the large- 
mouthed Bass : 

" Since we began fishing the North Michigan waters I have be- 



GENERAL AND SPECIAL FEATURES. 33 

come better acquainted with them, and have handled them till my 
arm has been tired out. I am not going to say they are not good, 
hard fighters for a while, but they seem to lose heart in the strug- 
gle after a few rushes, and it would be hard to convince me that 
they are any thing like the equal of the small-mouth in dash, 
tireless vigor of action, and every thing that counts in the make- 
up of a thoroughly game fish." 

" Dubuque," of Dubuque, Iowa, has this to say : 

"For the past twenty years I have taken these fishes in the 
Mississippi river with rod and reel, and while I have found indi- 
viduals of both species which were lacking in game qualities, I 
have also found those which excelled in them. I have taken the 
big-mouth when I thought its gameness could not be excelled, 
and again when it came in like a stick. The same can be said of 
the small-mouth. As a rule, I think that your opinion that these 
fishes do not fight in proportion to their weight when they are 
above two pounds in weight, is correct, but there are individual 
exceptions even to this. 

"Last week I took several of each species, and before bring- 
ing them to net took note of their gameness in advance of know- 
ing the species, and in my opinion it is impossible for one to de- 
termine, with any degree of accuracy, which fish has been hooked 
by its fighting qualities, when fishing in the Mississippi river." 

I think that the general opinion in Central New York is 
in favor of the small-mouthed Bass as a game fish, or that 
this opinion is more pronounced in that section than in any 
other with which I am acquainted. There is evidently 
something wrong with the large-mouthed Bass of the men- 
tioned locality, for Ira Wood says of this species, in Kin- 
derhook lake, near Albany : 

"The lake is shallow, muddy and warm, and the fish are all 



34 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF TJIE BLACK BASS. 

bead, tail and skin; and, after being stripped of these, if you 
find any meat left, it is muddy in taste ; any thing but a gamy 
fish to catch, or a game; fish to eat." 

" Syracuse," of Syracuse, New York, shares this general 
opinion, as the following shows: 

"There is more fight and more game, more cussedness and 
more endurance, in a one and a half pound small-mouth Black 
Bass having barred .sides, than in a three-pound large-mouth ; 
and both will deceive when first hooked, the first by being less 
weight, and the other being more ; and, while both are good 
enough, I prefer the small-mouth every time." 

Mr. S.*C. Clarke, a veteran angler of fifty years' experi- 
ence, and whose opinion is entitled to great weight, says : 

"I will say that, from an acquaintance with both species for 
more than forty years, from Minnesota to Florida, I have found 
little or no difference between them. I have taken them with 
fly, spoon, and bait, as many as fifty in a day (in early times), 
and up to six and a half pounds weight." 

" Salmon Roe," of Newport, Arkansas, offers the follow- 
ing testimony : 

" Last year I spent some time investigating the comparative 
gaminess of the small-mouth and the big-mouth Black Bass in 
the Little Red River of Arkansas, where both species exist in 
about equal numbers, the one in the swift shoal y places, and the 
other in the slack water or 'holes' of that stream. I started in 
without prejudice, and came out with an impression favorable to 
the big-mouth. 

" Of course, there is a difference in the * manner' of the two 
fishes. The big-mouth, for instance, in the stream to which I 
have alluded, takes the fly much more freely than his neighbor, 



GENERAL AND SPECIAL FEATURES. 35 

and fights with at least equal determination after Inking. In 
using the trolling spoon in clear water, I have frequently ob- 
served that the small-mouth will follow the lure for :i while, and 
abandon the pursuit without an attempt to capture. This I have 
never known the big-mouth to do. He starts for it, goes straight 
to it, takes it, and lights it out on that line. There is nothing 
indirect about him — until he is hooked. Then he will cut the 
line on rocks, wind it about snags, tangle it among weeds, and 
do very many highly reprehensible things. In this regard he is 
no worse, however, if he be so bad, as his sly neighbor the small- 
mouth." 

" Cyrtonyx," of Fort Stanton, New Mexico, is a very close 
and reliable observer, and a good angler and fly-fisher; out 
of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaketh : 

"I have caught the large-mouth Black Bass from the southern 
part of Louisiana, through most of the Gulf States, and north- 
ward, and I have always found that they not only rise splendidly 
to the fly, but that 1 have caught as big ones as by bait-fishing. 
On the other hand, the small-mouth does not take the fly freely 
(remember 1 am speaking of legitimate fly-fishing, not trolling 
with flies), and it is but the small ones that take it at all, as a 
rule. The big-sized small-mouths are seldom caught that way. 
Four years ago I saw a number of complaints about the Black 
Bass not being a reliable fish for the fly, etc., but nearly all these 
articles were from Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, and re- 
ferred to the small-mouth. If the writers had tried the large- 
mouth, they would probably have changed their opinions. 1 
have caught the large-mouth Black Bass in running waters, in 
ponds, and in lakes. Swift running water is the best for fly-fish- 
ing. The statement that they invariably like mud and weeds, 
and go nowhere else, is simply not true. 

"I have caught the large-mouth in the Amite, in East Baton 
Rouge Parish, La., as clear and pure a river as any trout stream 



36 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

I ever saw in New England or Canada, and I have fished, when 
a boy, in many of the waters of that section. The upper Oua- 
chita, in Arkansas, is another clear stream, and is full of them, 
as are all the clear rivers and creeks through the piny woods in 
Alabama and Mississippi." 

" Lambert," of Erie, Pennsylvania, is almost persuaded : 

" Since reading your article on the game qualities of the two 
Black Basses, some weeks ago, I have been taking notice of the 
way in which they fought. Previous to this, I accepted the com- 
mon notion that the small-mouth was the best fighter, but after 
careful observation I must admit that I am in doubt about it. 
Within the past three weeks I have taken about one hundred fish 
of both kinds, but am not fully prepared to admit that the big- 
mouth is the equal of his brother, yet I will say that he is a bet- 
ter fighter than I had given him credit for. This is one effect 
of popular prejudice. I had never before heard it questioned 
that the common opinion regarding the superiority of the small- 
mouth might be exaggerated." 

" Rob Roy," of Syracuse, whose experience with the 
large-mouthed Bass seems unfortunately to be confined to 
Central New York, says : 

"Dr. Henshall and Mr. Mather have had wide experience on 
many waters, and both seem firm in the conviction that the large- 
mouth is as gamy as the small-mouth. No one who has ever cast 
a fly in Central New York could hold such an opinion for an in- 
stant. The habits of the two fish here are utterly unlike. One 
lives in sluggish water on mud bottom, the other in deep, clear 
water, on sand or gravel bottom, or on rapids with rocky bottom. 
The large-mouth rarely rises to the surface to meet the fly, but 
generally takes it under water as it is trailing ; and, when caught, 
he sulks near the bottom until he finds that Avon't do, when he 



GENERAL AND SPECIAL FEATURES. 37 

coines just to the surface, and gives an ugly shake like a bulldog 
with a cat iu his mouth. He never makes bold leaps for freedom 
nor desperate runs. The small-mouth, on the contrary, is all 
game. The instant he strikes he goes for deep water to enjoy his 
morsel in peace, but when he feels the sharp sting of the hook, 
as though suddenly realizing his danger, he makes a grand leap 
for life and freedom, frequently rising three, four, and five feet 
clear of the water. If that fails, he rushes for deep water with 
an energy and j)ower that thrills and delights the fly-caster. And 
he gives up only after a desperate struggle. I have known small- 
mouth Bass to leap clear of the water five or six times before 
submitting to be netted. Did any large-mouth ever do as much ? 
The small-mouth, again, fights with his mouth shut, while the 
large-mouth comes to the net with jaws gaping like a pickerel on 
a trolling line." 

" Rob Roy " shows himself in the above to be quite im- 
aginative and very prejudiced. No Bass ever leaped "five 
feet." No Bass, large or small-mouthed, ever " sulked.'' 
A Bass, or any other fish, will fight with its mouth open or 
shut according to the part of the mouth it is hooked in. 
When caught, the large-mouth " sulks near the bottom," 
but the small-mouth goes to the same place to " enjoy his 
morsel in peace." How does " Rob Roy " know this ? 

In contrast to the above note the following from " E. F.," 
of Chicago : 

"I have fished for Bass in some of the Northern lakes, the 
Delaware, Susquehanna, Alleghany, Potomac, Shenandoah, and 
some smaller streams, also in Florida and other Southern States. 
As I have never caught a large-mouth Bass in running water, I 
can not give an opinion as to the relative gameness of the two 
fish. I will say one thing in favor of the large-mouth fish 
which, to me, covers a multitude of sins, and that is, he is a 



38 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

splendid riser, frequently throwing himself completely out of 
water as he takes the fly, and always showing a good part of his 
body. The small-mouth rises in a sluggish manner, and often 
sucks in the fly after the manner of the plebeian sunfish. The 
large-mouth Bass caught with the fly have been as large as those 
caught with live bait. 

"In ten years fly-fishing for small-mouth Bass I have caught 
very few large fish. During these years I have spent three 
months each season by the river side, and have fished at least 
two days each week. A large fish has occasionally been caught, 
but I have looked upon them as lucky accidents." 

I could give fully fifty more opinions on this subject, but 
they would be merely repetitions of the above. I advise 
every angler to investigate this matter for himself, and 
without bias. If he finds that the big-mouth is just as 
good a game-fish as the small-mouth, he is just that much 
better off. 



CHAPTER IV. 

COLORATION OF THE BLACK BASS. 

The coloration of the young of the small-mouthed Bass 
is light green, with golden reflections, and with numerous 
small dots or punctulations, which aggregate in small clus- 
ters, approaching somewhat the appearance of vertical bars. 
Iris, golden. Base of caudal fin yellowish, tip whitish, and 
dark olivaceous or blackish in the middle. 

In the young of the large- mouthed Bass the color is also 
greenish but darker, with a blackish band along the lateral 
line, and clusters of dark spots above and below. Iris, 
golden. Base and tip of caudal fin somewhat paler than 
the middle. 

Those who keep their fish alive in fish-cars, live-boxes, 
etc., or by the more reprehensible practice of stringing the 
fish, will observe, that however different in coloration fishes 
of the same species may appear when first caught, that 
after being subjected to the same conditions for a few hours 
they will all exhibit the same coloration. 

Another instance of the change of coloration due to en- 
vironment, or change in the condition, character, depth and 
temperature of the water, or in the food, is seen in the 
Canadian sea-trout. This is merely the brook-trout that 
has become anadromous and runs to the sea. When it re- 
turns, in the spring or early summer, to the mouths of the 
streams, it is, like most marine fishes, of a bright, silvery 
appearance ; but after being in fresh water a short time it 

(39) 



40 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

takes on the characteristic colors and spots of the brook- 
trout. 

The external coloration of fishes depends on the pres- 
ence of variously-colored pigment-cells in one or both lay- 
ers of the skin. These pigment-cells are under the influ- 
ence or control of the nervous system, and are able to cause 
changes of color which may be rapid or temporary, or more 
or less permanent. 

In some fishes, as the Black Bass, the change in colora- 
tion is involuntary, and is, without much doubt, occasioned 
by an increase or decrease in the number of the different 
pigment-cells, owing to the influences of light, depth of 
water, temperature, surroundings, etc. 

In some other fishes the change of coloration is much 
more rapid, and seems to depend on a contraction or ex- 
pansion of the pigment- cells already developed, and which 
are very sensitive to surrounding conditions, especially to 
light. Owing to this rapid change in the colors of certain 
fishes, when exposed to the light, they are thought by some 
to be endowed with the power of changing their colors at 
will, or voluntarily. This, however, is not very likely. 



CHAPTER V. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 

In this brief paper,* the writer intends merely to give 
the facts, as they exist, relative to the distribution of the 
Black Bass species, without attempting to draw any con- 
clusions therefrom, or from the laws which govern the geo- 
graphical distribution of fresh-water fishes, or to offer any 
theory concerning the same. A study of the habitat of 
the Black Bass, however, will, no doubt, aid the biologist 
very materially in solving the problem of the distribution 
of animals. 

The geographical distribution of the Black Bass is re- 
markable for its extent ; the original habitat of one or other 
of the two species ranging from Virginia to Florida, and 
from Canada and the Red river of the North to Louisiana 
and East Mexico. In other words, it might be stated that 
the original geographical range of this representative Amer- 
ican fish embraced the whole of North America, south of 
the British possessions and east of the Rocky Mountains, 
except the waters flowing into the Atlantic in New Eng- 
land and the Middle States, thus far excelling any other 
fish of America in its distribution. Of the two species, 
the large-mouthed Bass had the widest distribution, occur- 
ring all through the vast scope of territory mentioned 



* On the Distribution of the Black Bass. By Dr. James A. Hen- 
shall. <Proceedings American Fishcultural Association, 1883. 

(41) 



42 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

above. The small-mouthed Bass had a somewhat limited 
range in comparison, not extending east or south beyond 
the Alleghany mountains, though occurring every-where 
else with the large-mouthed species. 

At the present day, the habitat of the Black Bass has 
been extended by transportation, and by means of artificial 
canals, so that it may be said to inhabit every state of the 
Union. It has also been successfully introduced into Eng- 
land, Scotland and Germany, thus occupying a wider range 
than any fresh-water fish in the world. 

The fact that the original habitat of the Black Bass does 
not embrace New England and the Pacific slope is not re- 
markable, for the characteristically American forms of 
fishes, as has been observed by Professor Jordan, are, gen- 
erally speaking, rare or absent in the waters of these sec- 
tions. This fact was noticed by Professor Louis Agassiz, 
who called New England " a zoological island,*' on account 
of its faunal peculiarities as compared with the rest of the 
United States. Thus, of more than a hundred genera of 
fresh-water fishes now known to occur in the waters east of 
the Mississippi river, only about "one- fourth occur in New 
England, and of these all except a half-dozen genera are 
represented by but a single species each ; and not more 
than thirty-five genera occur in the waters of the Pacific 
slope. Almost any stream of any extent of the Ohio or 
Mississippi basins will furnish double the number of genera 
and species as the entire waters of either of the above- 
named sections. Thus, as Professor Jordan states, "In the 
little White river, at Indianapolis, seventy species, repre- 
senting forty- eight genera, are known to occur — twice as 
many as inhabit all the rivers of New England." 

The distribution of the Black Bass does not seem to be 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 43 

much affected by geological formations, climatic influences, 
or the character of waters ; for although one or both species 
may have been absent originally in certain localities, they 
readily adapt themselves to the waters of these sections 
when transplanted, and rapidly increase. 

Originally, both species were at home among the primor- 
dial rocks of the eozoic period of Lake Champlain, North- 
ern Wisconsin, and along the Appalachian chain in the 
Carolinas and Northern Georgia. They flourished amid 
the paleozoic rocks of the Great Lake region and the Mis- 
sissippi valley, and in the coal measures of the Ohio, Illi- 
nois, and Missouri river basins ; while in the marine 
tertiary formations of the cenozoic period, along the Atlan- 
tic and Gulf slopes of the Southern States, the large- 
mouthed Bass alone occurs. Thus, while the small-mouthed 
Bass seems to be restricted naturally to the older formations, 
the large-mouthed Bass roams at his own sweet will through 
the regions of metamorphic and stratified rocks and glacial 
drift, down to the recently formed coral rocks of the Pe- 
ninsula of Florida. 

Climatic influences do not seem to affect the distribution 
of the large-mouthed Bass in any degree, in the United 
States, and of the small-mouthed Bass only to a small ex- 
tent. The original habitat of the species extended through 
twenty-five degrees of latitude and thirty degrees of longi- 
tude, the small-mouthed Bass alone not occurring in the 
extreme ten degrees of southern latitude, and the ten de- 
grees of extreme western longitude of this range. Thus, 
while the small-mouthed Bass is naturally restricted to cold 
and temperate waters, the large-mouthed Bass bids defiance 
alike to the ice-bound streams of Canada, the tropical la- 
goons of East Mexico, and the sunny streams of Southern 



44 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

Florida, He flashes his bright armor under the firs and 
birches of the St. Lawrence basin, and erects his spiny 
crest in the grateful shade of the palms and live oaks of the 
southern peninsula. To him it is given 

" To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside 
In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice.'' 

The character of waters has but little influence upon the 
distribution of the species, less upon the large-mouthed 
Bass than upon his small-mouthed congener. If the water 
is reasonably pure, both species will thrive in it ; but, as 
has just been intimated, the small-mouthed Bass naturally 
seeks cooler and clearer waters. Thus, while he is found 
in the head-waters of certain rivers flowing into the Atlan- 
tic (notably those of the Alleghany region of the Carolinas, 
Georgia, and Alabama), co-existing with the large-mouthed 
Bass, the latter only occurs in the lower portions of the 
streams. There are several rivers in Hernando county, on 
the Gulf coast of Florida, that burst out from the base of 
a sandy ridge running parallel with the coast, and some 
twelve miles from it, whose sources are large springs, fifty 
or sixty feet deep, and of half an acre in extent. Their 
waters are remarkably clear and cool, with a strong current 
until tide-water is reached ; and I have no doubt but the 
small-mouthed Bass would thrive wonderfully well in the 
upper portions of the streams if introduced into them, as 
the conditions all seem favorable, and the large-mouthed 
Bass is very abundant in them. 

As we approach tide-water, the small-mouthed Bass dis- 
appears. The large-mouthed Bass, however, true to his 
cosmopolitan nature, descends the streams to their mouths, 
where he seems to be as much at home in the brackish 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 45 

waters of the estuaries as in the pure and crystal rapids of 
the highlands. 

The Black Bass being in a manner omnivorous, is prob- 
ably not restricted in its range to any great extent by the 
supply of any one article of his food ; though it would be 
affected, of course, by an abundance or scarcity of its food, 
as a whole. Crawfish and minnows are the principal food 
of adult Black Bass, and these are more or less plentiful 
throughout the waters of the United States. In addition 
to these, they feed upon insects. larvae, frogs, etc. Pro- 
fessor S. A. Forbes, in his studies of the food of fishes, 
ascertained that the food of young Bass, when less than an 
inch in length, consisted entirely of minute Crustacea (En- 
tomostracd). When from one to four inches long, they feed 
almost wholly upon insects; while crawfish and small fishes 
constituted the principal diet of adult Bass, the small- 
mouthed species showing an especial fondness for the 
former. The greater prevalence of crawfish in clear, rocky 
streams, may throw some light upon the preference of small- 
mouthed Bass for such waters. 

I wish to say a word in this connection in reference to 
objections heretofore urged before this Association against 
the introduction of the Black Bass into Eastern waters, 
upon the theory that the presence of the " voracious " Bass 
would militate against the increase of shad or salmon. 
The objections are not valid, or founded on fact ; for the 
Black Bass prefers a diet of crawfish, when he can get it, 
varying it with minnows, insects, larvae, and frogs, and in 
Eastern waters he would not object to young eels. The 
pike, pickerel, pike-perch, and gar-fish, are almost entirely 
piscivorous in their habits, which might be expected from 
the character of their teeth, and their sins have no doubt 



46 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

been charged to the Black Bass. But, while the Bass will 
take in a young shad or salmon if it comes his way when 
hungry, he will not make them special objects of pursuit, 
like the canine-teethed fishes above named. 

The failure to restock such streams, if any such failure 
exists, must be attributed to other causes than the intro- 
duction of the Black Bass, prominent among which is the 
unrelenting pursuit of the young fry by the predatory 
fishes mentioned. They are only exceeded in their destruc- 
tiveness by the genus Homo, with his miles of gill-nets at 
the mouths of the streams, to prevent the return of the 
shad or salmon during the breeding season ; and should 
a few run the gauntlet and succeed in depositing their 
spawn in the upper reaches of the rivers, the eels, bullheads 
and suckers take good care of it. All of which is truly 
deplorable, and deplorably true. But in your just and 
righteous indignation do not make a scape-goat of so good 
a fellow as the Black Bass. 

In Western waters where the Bass exists with the usual 
varieties of fishes, there is no perceptible decrease in the 
numbers of either. If any species suffers it is always the 
Black Bass on account of over-fishing, spearing, etc. I 
know of isolated lakes in Wisconsin where the Black Bass 
has co-existed with the cisco (one of the salmon family), 
longer than the memory of man runneth to • the contrary, 
without a decrease of the latter fish. If then the Bass can 
not " get away with " the cisco in confined waters, how can 
he " clean out" the shad or salmon in large flowing streams? 
Moreover, I know of a small stream that abounded in Black 
Bass and crawfish, into which brook-trout were introduced 
to the discomfiture of the former fish, for the trout increased 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 47 

while the numbers of the Bass grew smaller by degrees and 
beautifully less. 

If, then, there are waters in which the brook-trout or the 
rainbow-trout will not thrive, do not hesitate to aid in the 
further distribution of the Black Bass by introducing that 
desirable species. It is easily done, and success is already 
assured. You have only to look to the Potomac, the Sus- 
quehannah, the Delaware and many other streams for evi- 
dence of its rapid increase in new waters. 

The Black Bass is excelled by no other fish that swims 
for gameness, and among fresh water species by but one, 
the white-fish, for the table. And, furthermore, he will not 
eat the spawn of his mate, nor that of his fellows' mates. 
His natural food is the crawfish and the minnow ; he prefers 
them, and they are easily procured. On them he will wax 
and grow fat, increase and multiply. The man who alleges 
that he depopulates the streams of valuable food fishes, or 
asserts that he "kills for the love of it," has never looked 
into the mouth of the Bass with his eyes open. 



CHAPTER VI. 
HABITS OF THE BLACK BASS. 

Spawning and Hatching. 

The female Black Bass yields from five thousand to 
twenty thousand eggs, according to age and weight. The 
eggs are of the adhesive or glutinous class, and can not be 
manipulated in the same way as those of the salmon, trout, 
or shad (which latter are non-adhesive or separate) by the 
pisciculturist. The eggs are inclosed or enveloped in glu- 
tinous bands or ribbons of an adhesive character, which 
sink at once to the bottom of the nest and become glued 
to the pebbles, rocks, sticks, etc. 

Major Isaac Arnold, Jr., while in command of the 
Arsenal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, prepared a small pond in 
the grounds and stocked it with small-mouthed Bass from 
White river and Fall creek. For several years he had the 
opportunity of closely observing the fish during the breed- 
ing season, and records the following interesting data : * 

" I placed the Bass in the pond for the sole purpose of noticing 
them during the breeding season, but the water in the pond was 
so crowded with a growth of algse that my observations have not 
been satisfactory. I think the female prepares the spawning 
ground or bed, after which the male joins her. Whilst, the fe- 
male is preparing the bed the males fight w 7 ith each other for 



* Successful Propagation of Black Bass. By Major Isaac Arnold, 
Jr., U. S. A. <Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission, li, 1S82. 
(48) 



HABITS OF THE BLACK BASS. 49 

possession. . . . The male presses the roe from the female 
by a series of bites or pressures along her belly with his mouth, 
the female lying upon her side during the operation. The male 
ejects the milt upon or over the roe from time to time, and the 
spawning process lasts for two or three days. When the spawn- 
ing is over, the male disappears from the scene, and the female 
remains upon the nest extremely pugnacious, allowing nothing 
to approach until the eggs have hatched and the young fry are 
a week or ten days old. The young fish commence at once to 
prey upon each other and continue until they are two or three 
weeks old, when cannibalism ceases and there is no more danger 
from that source." 

This accords, in the main, with my own observations, 
though I have never observed the male biting or pressing 
the abdomen of the female with his mouth; this feature, 
however, has been confirmed by Mr. Geo. C. Rixford, of 
Rixford, Florida, who observed the occurrence in that state. 
It would seem, then, that this proceeding is common to 
both species, as Major Arnold's observations were confined 
to the small-mouthed, and those of Mr. Rixford to the large- 
mouthed Bass. 

I have often seen the female alone, and sometimes the 
male, and sometimes both together, spinning rapidly around 
the nest, upon their sides, ejecting the eggs or milt, which 
sank at once to the bottom. When the fish were in pairs, 
the ed^es of their bellies would be toward each other, 
sometimes in contact, as they circled around quite close to 
the bottom, with jerky, tremulous motions ; but I never 
saw the male pressing the spawn from the female with his 
mouth. 

I record the following interesting item for the benefit of 



50 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

future observers. My own opinion is that such nests are 
constructed in lakes of considerable depth, with steep 
shores, where suitable bottom in shallow water can not be 
found, and the Bass resort to this expedient for the pur- 
pose of bringing the eggs within the proper distance of the 
surface. " Homo," of Philadelphia, thus writes to "Forest 
and Stream :" 

" While in Grand Rapids, Mich., during my late vacation, I 
was informed by Dr. Parker, of the State Fish Commission, and 
a Mr. Hill, of that city, of a new feature in the habits of the 
Black Bass during spawning time, which had come under the 
notice of those gentlemen. It was that of the nest building of 
these fish within two or three feet of the surface in ten and fif- 
teen feet of water. Mr. Hill told me he had frequently observed, 
at the head of some lakes and ponds in Michigan, a collection of 
ring moss and other vegetable matter, placed with apparent de- 
sign on the top of brush heaps which rested on the bottom of the 
lake and extended nearly to the surface of the water. Not 
knowing what they were, he made a critical examination and 
found them always guarded by the Bass which had constructed 
the nest in the same manner in which they protect their ordinary 
nests made in the bed of the stream or pond. In many cases the 
nests would be three or four feet in diameter and larger than the 
top of the brush pile on which they rested. This habit of the 
Bass I have never heard of before, and both Mr. Hill and Dr. 
Parker confessed they had never seen an account of it published. 
It may be some of your correspondents know of it and can give 
further light on the subject. May it not be that some peculiar 
character of the bed of these bodies of water, where the nests are 
found, renders it impossible for the spawn of the fish which in- 
habit them to properly develop if deposited there, and the nest 
building is resorted to to aid in a better or more speedy hatching 
of the eggs? Perhaps more sunlight is wanted. I am at a loss 
to give a better explanation of the matter." 



habits of the black bass. 51 

Food and Growth. 

Professor S. A. Forbes, of the Illinois State Laboratory 
of Natural History, has been engaged, for a number of 
years, in the study of the food of fishes and birds. His 
examinations have been of the most careful and painstaking 
character. The following results have been attained in 
reference to the food of the Black Bass species.* 

Of the large-mouthed Black Bass he examined the food 
of fourteen adults and seventeen young of different ages. 
The first group, consisting of five specimens under one inch 
in length, taken in June, July, and August of different 
years, showed that the entire food consisted of minute Crus- 
tacea, all Entomostraca, except in the case of a single fish, 
which showed seven per cent, of a very young amphipod. 

Six specimens, from one and a fourth inches to one and 
a half inches long had "eaten minute fishes (twenty-nine per 
cent.) and insects (forty- six per cent.), the crusta.cea drop- 
ping to twenty-five per cent. The fishes eaten were not 
large enough to determine the species. Two specimens be- 
tween two and three inches . long had eaten only insects. 
Four specimens varying from three to three and one-half 
inches in length had eaten nothing but insects and their 
larvse. In the fourteen adults the food consisted of seven 
per cent, of crawfishes, a few insects, and eighty-six per 
cent, of small fishes. 

In regard to the small-mouthed Bass, Professor Forbes 
says : 

"I have made full notes of the food of twenty-seven speci- 



* The Food of Fishes. By S. A. Forbes. <Bulletin iii, Ills. State 
Lab. Nat. Hist., 18, 1380. 



52 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

mens — three adult and the others young. I had none of these 
species under an inch in length, but, judging from the general 
resemblance of the food of this and the preceding Bass at later 
ages, I do not doubt that this will also be found to feed at first 
on Entomostraca, although insect food is possibly more important 
to it from the beginning." 

Seven small-mouthed Bass, from one to two inches in 
length, had eaten only five per cent, of Entomostraca, the 
remainder of the food consisting of insects and their larvae. 
Ten specimens, between two and three inches long, showed, 
in addition to the insect food, five per cent, of fishes, and 
in those ranonncr from three to four inches in length the 
amount of fish food increased to fourteen per cent., the in- 
sect food dropped to seven per cent., with seventy-nine per 
cent, of Crustacea. The three adults had eaten thirty- 
eight per cent, of fishes and sixty-two per cent, of craw- 
fishes. 

Some allowance should be made for the character of the 
different waters in which the specimens were collected, as 
Entomostraca and other minute Crustacea are more abund- 
ant in still water, while the larvae of certain insects are 
more plentiful under the stones of rapid streams. 

In some waters, under favorable conditions of food and 
environment, Black Bass of exceptionable size and weight 
are occasionally taken. The large specimens mentioned on 
page 166,* I find, upon a more careful examination of the 
photograph, to be small-mouthed Bass without any doubt, 
and are extraordinary examples of that species, the usual 
maximum weight of which is about five pounds. Since 
Mr. Cheney took those fish, he records the capture of two 



* Book of the Black Bass, 1881. 



HABITS OF THE BLACK BASS. 53 

more of these small-mouth giants from the same waters 
(Long pond, or Glen lake), near Glens Falls, New York. 

One of them, taken by a police officer and two comrades, 
was seen and weighed by Mr. Cheney, who gives its pro- 
portions as follows : weight, eight and one-quarter pounds ; 
length, from end of snout, to fork of tail-fin, twenty-two 
and one-half inches ; girth, eighteen and one-half inches. 
Mr. Fred Mather saw this fish and pronounced it a small- 
mouthed Bass. 

The other and larger fish was captured in the same waters 
by a Mr. Boynton, and is probably the largest small-mouthed 
Bass of which there is any positive evidence. Mr. Cheney 
weighed and measured it and gives its weight as eight 
pounds and ten ounces, its extreme length as twenty-five 
inches, and its girth eighteen and three-fourths inches. 

Mr. H. W. Ross, when in Florida, caught, in a " clear, 
deep, lily-bound lake," near Altoona, in that state, a large- 
mouthed Black Bass which, he states, weighed twenty-three 
and one- eighth pounds, and measured, from tip of nose to 
tip of tail, thirty-seven and one-half inches, and in girth, 
twenty-nine and one-half inches. The head of this fish 
was sent to the office of " Forest and Stream," in New 
York, and its dimensions were given by the editor as fol- 
lows : " Its maxillary bone measures four and three-fourths 
inches ; the head is seven and one-half inches from the tip 
of the upper jaw to the end of the opercle, and the lower 
jaw projects one inch. The greatest girth of the head is 
sixteen and one-half inches." 

Since the publication of " The Book of the Black Bass," 
I have killed, with the fly, the large-mouth Bass of Florida 
up to fourteen pounds, and have seen larger ones taken 



54 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

with bait and trolling spoon, one weighing fully twenty 

pounds. 

Hibernation. 

That both species of Black Bass hibernate in the north- 
erly parts of the country, is a fact too well known to admit 
of a doubt. But, notwithstanding the evidence heretofore 
adduced in support of this fact, the occasional catching of 
a Black Bass during the winter season, in the North and 
West, is sometimes heralded by correspondents of the 
angling journals as a proof that former observers have 
been mistaken, and that these fishes, or at least the large- 
mouthed Bass, do not hibernate. 

Perhaps the term hibernation is not well understood by 
these writers, which may account for their hasty and er- 
roneous conclusions. Hibernation does not necessarily 
imply, as supposed by some, a state of complete torpidity 
or profound sleep during the entire winter. To hibernate, 
according to Webster, is " to pass the season of winter in 
close quarters, or in seclusion ;" and that that is just what 
the Black Bass of both species do, in northern and western 
waters, every one who has given the subject any intelligent 
investigation is prepared to admit. 

When the temperature falls as low as 50°, the Bass of 
running streams retire to the deepest holes, in the neigh- 
borhood of shelving rocks, if possible, under which they 
seclude themselves and remain in a listless condition. So 
also, in lakes or ponds, they leave their accustomed haunts, 
and retire to the deepest places, near bottom springs, masses 
of weeds, moss, etc. After a few days of warm or mild 
weather, especially if the temperature approaches nearly to 
50°, they will venture out into water of somewhat less 
depth, when they may be induced to take a bait in a half- 



HABITS OF THE BLACK BASS. 55 

hearted manner, while the mild weather lasts ; but, on the 
approach of a cold snap they again retire to the deepest 
water. When the temperature rises above 50° — say to 55° — 
and does not fall below again, they leave their winter quar- 
ters for that season. 

From personal observation I am pretty familiar with the 
habits of both species of Black Bass, at all seasons of the 
year, in all of the states east of the Mississippi (except 
the New England States), and I am convinced that, with 
the exception of those in the Gulf States, both species of 
Black Bass hibernate in a greater or less degree, according 
to the temperature of the waters. 



CHAPTER VII. 

INTELLIGENCE AND SPECIAL SENSES. 

Sense of Smell. 
The olfactory organ of fishes, while being well developed, 
has no relation whatever with the function of respiration, 
as in air-breathing animals. Dr. Giinther says : " It is 
certain that fishes possess the faculty of perceiving odors, 
and that various scents attract or repel them." This fact 
is patent to all observant anglers, and has been since long 
before the time of honest Izaak Walton. 

Sense of Sight. 

As the optic nerves of fishes show an extraordinary de- 
velopment, we must naturally conclude that they are as 
sharp-sighted in their element as we in ours. This, I think, 
no experienced fly-fisher will deny ; yet it is the fashion 
for biologists to accord to fishes only a moderate visual ca- 
pacity, as compared with land animals. But good, simple 
old Izaak Walton was much nearer the truth when he said : 
"A trout that is more sharp-sighted than any hawk you 
have named, and more watchful and timorous than your 
hi<2;h-mettled merlin is bold." 

" In the range of their vision and acuteness of sight," 
says Dr. Giinther, " fishes are very inferior to the higher 
classes of vertebrates ; yet, at the same time, it is evident 
that they perceive their prey or approaching danger from a 
considerable distance." 
(56) 



INTELLIGENCE AM) SPECIAL SENSES. . r >7 

At a recent meeting of the Manchester Anglers' Associa- 
tion, in England, Dr. A. Hodgkinson gave an address on 
the "Optics of Angling," which is thus noticed by the 
" London Fishing Gazette :" 

"In considering the subject of angling optics, we are met, as 
Dr. Hodgkinson pointed out, by the difficulty that we do not 
know exactly what the sight of fishes is, but we must assume it 
to be not much unlike our own, and we are not without grounds 
for the assumption. By drawings on a blackboard, Dr. Hodg- 
kinson showed how the eyes of both men and fishes were alike in 
their main parts, the greatest divergence being that, whereas the 
optic nerve in man occupies only a small portion of the brain, in 
fishes it occupies pretty nearly the whole brain ; and we may pre- 
sume, therefore, that the sight of fishes is more sensitive. 

" Dr. Hodgkinson then dealt with the phenomena of the pass- 
age of rays of light from the rare medium air to the dense me- 
dium water, and the change in direction that the incident ray 
undergoes ; he pointed out the fact that under certain conditions 
an angler on the bank might be invisible to a fish in the stream, 
but the exultation of the geutlemen assembled was probably 
damped when they heard that, in order practically to discover 
the distance they must stand from the water in order to be invis- 
ible, they must take their height and multiply it by fourteen, 
which, as an unfortunate angler who was present pointed out, 
would require him, seeing that he is six feet high, to stand eighty- 
four feet from the water's edge before he could take advantage 
of the invisible mantle Dr. Hodgkinson had promised him. The 
case, however, is not quite so hopeless as this, for, as the doctor 
pointed out, the water in which the fly-fisher angles is not gener- 
ally so smooth as a mirror, and in ripple or broken water it is 
impossible for fish to see the object on two legs that may be on 
the bank. 

" In fishing for trout, wading in many streams is a necessity, and 



58 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

by means of an ingeniously constructed tank Dr. Hodgkinson 
showed not only what the angler looked like to the fish when he 
waded, but how his aspect was affected by the color of the bot- 
tom of the river, and that of such cover as there might be on 
the bank. The rather startling announcement was made and 
demonstrated, that while the wader was duplicated so far as his 
legs were concerned, another pair appearing upside down on the 
actual legs, the man's body, if visible at all, was far away from 
the legs, and overhead, where, if we put ourselves in the position 
of the fishes, we should expect to see nothing but sky. No fish 
then ever saw a wader with his two halves united, and whether 
its feeble brain can ever connect together the two distinct objects 
— the body up in the air and the legs down in the water — is ex- 
tremely doubtful. 

"The tank by which Dr. Hodgkinson was enabled to demon- 
strate his theories was made so that from one end the observer 
could, by directing his vision from various depths of water, al- 
ways look through a slip of glass placed at right angles to the 
point toward which he looked. In this way, and by use of a lit- 
tle figure to represent a man, the point where invisibility begins 
(four degrees) could be clearly seen, as well as the effect which 
the water has of apparently lifting the object much above the 
position which it occupies." 

Sense of Hearing. 
It is the rule among physiologists to say, that while fishes 
can hear sounds produced in the water, they are incapable 
of hearing those produced in the air, and even to limit their 
capacity for hearing accurately those produced in the water. 
Take this, for example, from Mr. Hugh Owen, in " Land 
and Water:" 

" It is exceedingly doubtful if fish possess the faculty of hear- 



INTELLIGENCE AND SPECIAL SENSES. 59 

ing, in the ordinary sense of the term. Mr. Buckland has ac- 
curately described the nature of the sensation they do posses?, as 
vibration. There can not be a doubt that fish have no possible 
conception of either vicinity, direction, or distance of the vibra- 
tory disturbances they receive. A distant vibration disturbs a 
shoal of fishes as much as a near one ; and fish feeding eagerly 
at the bait will be alarmed and dispersed by the beat of a steam 
vessel a mile off. All the stories of fish coming to be fed at the 
sound of a bell or of a whistle are, of course, fables. Such 
sounds made in the air will not communicate vibrations to the 
fish beneath the surface of the water. They assemble only be- 
cause they see a figure, and are accustomed to be fed upon such 
occasions." 

No angler or fisherman of experience and observation 
can be made to believe such specious and questionable state- 
ments as the above. He knows better. 

As fishes live in a denser medium than terrestrial ani- 
mals, and one that more readily transmits the waves of 
sound, we should naturally expect to find a corresponding 
difference in the construction of the organ of hearing. 
While the internal ear of fishes differs only in degree, not 
in kind, from that of the higher animals, they, of course, 
have no external ear, nor is one necessary in so dense a 
medium as water ; but for this reason it is the fashion to 
say that they can only hear vibrations communicated through 
the medium of the water or the shore, the " vibrations '' 
meaning considerable "jars" or " shocks." 

The ear of fishes "lies close under the roof of the skull, and 
is thus easily accessible to the waves of sound, which are con- 
ducted partly through the operculum (when present), and partly 
through the gill slits or spiracle. As we pass to the higher ani- 
mals, however, the auditory organ gradually sinks further and 



60 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

further inward from the surface. Thus a new method for con- 
ducting the sound waves is necessitated, and the following struc- 
tures become developed, etc." — (Wiedersheim.) 

"Many Teleostei [true fishes] have fontanelles in the roof of 
the skull, closed by skin or very thin bone only at the place 
where the auditory organ approaches the surface, by which 
means sonorous undulations must be conducted with greater ease 
to the ear." — (Gunther.) 

' ' In many Teleostei a most remarkable relation obtains be- 
tween the organ of hearing and the air-bladder. In the most 
simple form, this connection is established in Percoids and the 
allied families, in which the two anterior horns of the air-bladder 
are attached to fontanelles of the occipital region of the skull." — 
(Gunther.) 

The air-bladder, in such cases, may, in a manner, per- 
form the functions of a tympanum. 

I append a few sensible remarks from an article by W. 
N. Lockington, in " Pacific Life :" 

" It appears to be not unlikely that fish take no notice of sounds 
produced in the air, but it is not so easy, unless we can argue the 
matter from a fish's point of view, to prove they do not hear 
those sounds. Take the sense of sight as an illustration of that 
of hearing. I have often amused myself by making believe to 
strike a monkey that lived in a cage with a glass front. Accus- 
tomed to such demonstrations, the monkey simply took no notice. 
His bright eyes never even winked. Arguing, as was argued in 
the fish case, I might say monkeys can not see. 

"All fishes have an organ of hearing; not a rudimentary or- 
gan, but one complete in its kind, and differing from ours only 
in its degree of development; differing, in fact, much in the 
isame way that the brain, the heart, the intestines, the skeleton, 



INTELLIGENCE AND SPECIAL SENSES. 61 

the skin, the limbs, or any other part of a fish differs from that oi 
a quadruped or from our own. 

-The microphone has gone far toward proving what philoso- 
phers had previously become convinced of by deductive reason- 
ing that there is no motion without sound, and therefore that 
sound is present in numberless instances not evident to our seuses. 
For our perception of sound we are dependent upon our sense of 
hearing, which is adapted only to a certain range of sounds; and 
this range differs in human individuals, for we all know that some 
other persons hear sounds imperceptible to us. Still more is this 
true of other animals ; they may hear what we can not, yet be 
deaf to sounds audible to us. 

" Strict experiments upon the hearing of fishes have yet to be 
made. Most of the observations yet made are faulty, either be- 
cause first, the observer has supposed that the fish ought, if it 
can hear, to notice a sound he makes for the purpose ; or, sec- 
ond, he has argued, from the standpoint of his own senses, that 
if a fish hears, the range of its hearing must be nearly the same 

as his own. , 

" To conclude: that fish have ears, is indisputable ; that they 
hear some sounds produced in the water, scarcely admits of ques- 
tion; that they hear some sounds produced in the air, even 
though they may not take notice of them, is probable, but lacks 
(so far as I know) experimental proof; that they do not hear 
many sounds which we hear, or at least do not discriminate be- 
tween sounds which we, with our more highly organized organs, 
readily distinguish, is almost certain. Ml of which ends in this, 
that fishes hear, but their senses differ in range and delicacy from 
ours." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ON STOCKING INLAND WATERS WITH BLACK 

BASS.^ 

A lake belonging to the South Fork Fishing and Hunt- 
ing Club, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was successfully stocked with 
adult Black Bass in June, 1881. The transportation of the 
six hundred and sixty Bass from Sandusky, Ohio, to the 
lake, ninety miles east of Pittsburgh, was carried out very 
successfully under the direction of Mr. W. A. Mcintosh, 
vice-president of the club. 

The fish were placed in fifteen oak casks, three feet high, 
and three feet in diameter, and five galvanized iron tanks, 
five feet high, and three feet in diameter. The water was 
kept at the proper temperature by adding ice occasionally, 
and aerated by means of a large air-pump and fifty feet of 
one-inch rubber hose, at one end of which was a series of 
perforated tin tubes. A large tin tube also ran along above 
the casks, with a small dependent tube ending in a sprink- 
ler leading to the top of each cask, into which water was 
poured and entered the casks in a fine spray. 

The Bass weighed from three-fourths of a pound to two 
and one-half pounds, averaging one and a half pounds each. 
The females were heavy with spawn, as the season was 
backward. They were on the road, from Sandusky to the 
lake, some thirty hours, with a loss of only sixty fish, or 
ten per cent. The Bass have done well in the lake, as 
(62^ 



ON STOCKING INLAND WATERS WITH BLACK BASS. 



63 



myriads of young Bass, six or eight inches long, were per- 
ceived the following year. 

Not only in our own country have new waters been suc- 
cessfully stocked with both species of Black Bass, but they 
have been transplanted to England, Scotland, Germany and 
the Netherlands. 

-Of twelve hundred Black Bass brought from the United 
States by Mr. W. T. Silk, one hundred and forty were placed in 
the river Nene. They were from four to seven inches in length. 
The river has a number of small backwaters, with swift currents 
and gravelly bottoms, and also deep, quiet holes. Fishing will 
be prohibited for some years, until the fish are well established. 
I think the Nene and the Welland are the only rivers in Eng- 
land where the Bass have been put; but they are in several 
lakes."— {London Fishing Gazette, December 1, 1883.) 

- Of the seven large-mouthed, and forty-five small-mouthed 
Bass which Mr. Eckardt, Jr., brought from America in Feb- 
ruary 1883, the greater number died, probably in consequence 
of the long journey, so that this spring there remained only 
three of the former and ten of the latter, which I placed in two 
ponds, supplied with gravel beds for spawning. "-(Max Von dem 
Borne, Circular No. 4, 1884, German Fishery Association, Berlin, 
June, 1884.) 

The ponds of Count Von dem Borne, alluded to above, 
are located at Berneuchen, Germany. On June 15, 1884, 
he wrote : 

"ToHlay I bad the satisfaction of finding that the three 
We fi* had spaced, and the pond actually swarms with fry. 
1 hfve caught w'ith a small net more than two thousand, and hav 
put lem Into another pond which is free from other fish, 
r -e 1 doubt *at next spring the small-mouthed Ba, w,ll 



64 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

spawu, and that the experiment will be successful." — {Bull. U, 
8. Fish Com., iv, 1884, 219.) 

In June, 1885, he says : 

"My thirteen Black Bass have spawned. I have caught 
11,800 of the fry, and placed them in ponds that have no other 
fish." 

In August, 1885, he wrote : 

"I am pleased to say that the fish multiplied abundantly. I 
had 1 ,200 in the fall of 1884, and have caught more than 22,000 
fry this season." 

Count Von dem Borne has now more Black Bass, of both 
species, than he can take care of, and is shipping them to 
other parts of Europe. In 1886, he published a small trea- 
tise, " Der Schwartzbarsch und der Forrellenbarsch " (The 
Black Bass and the Trout Bass), and a larger edition in 
1888. He is very enthusiastic in regard to the Black Bass 
as a game fish and food fish. 

In March, 1885, Mr. Eugene G. Blackford, of New York, 
sent five young Black Bass to the Zoological Garden at 
Amsterdam, where they arrived in excellent condition. In 
December, 1885, the " Journal of the Society for the Pro- 
motion of the Fresh-water Fisheries in the Netherlands," 
says : 

" The Amsterdam Aquarium at present possesses four fine 
specimens of Black Bass, which grow well, and will, in all prob- 
ability, reach sexual maturity." 

In April, 1882, Mr. Geo. Shepard Page took a small lot 
of Black Bass, comprising both species, on the steamer 



ON STOCKING INLAND WATERS WITH BLACK BASS. 



65 



Spain, from New York to Liverpool. Six of the fish were 
.applied by Mr. Eugene G. Blackford, of New lork and 
twelve young and five adult fish were .applied by Professor 
Spencer F. Baird, U. S. Fish Commissioner. Two of the 
adaltBa.. died before reaching Liverpool The balance 
were safely transported to Goldspie, Sutherland, m Scot- 
land, and placed in a loch belonging to the Duke of Suth- 
erland. 



PART II. 



TOOLS, TACKLE, AND IMPLEMENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FISHING RODS. 

It is a source of great pleasure and satisfaction to the 
angler of the present day to note the march of improve- 
ment in the manufacture of fine fishing tackle, and to ob- 
serve the commendable enterprise manifested by the manu- 
facturers in producing light, elegant and suitable imple- 
ments of the craft. Indeed, the skill, study, ingenuity and 
good taste employed in this branch of the arts is scarcely 
excelled in any other; all of which is highly gratifying, for 
it would seem to imply that the love and practice of angling 
has taken deep root, and that fine fishing and scientific an- 
gling are in a healthy state of growth and development. 

I deem it my province, in order that the Black Bass fisher 
may be fully informed in regard to these various improve- 
ments, to mention those that, in my judgment, are especi- 
ally meritorious. 

In no direction has this improvement been more pro- 
nounced than in that of fishing rods. Rods of ail kinds, 
both bait and fly-rods, have been reduced in length from 
one to two feet, and with a proportional lessening of their 
calibers and weights. 

This reduction in the weight and length of rods necessa- 
rily implies an improvement in materials and workmanship 
in their construction. And this is really the case. For 
instance, if a fly-rod, twelve feet long and weighing ten 
ounces, be reduced to ten and a half feet and eight ounces, 

(69) 



70 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

to be used for the same kind of fishing, it follows that it 
must be constructed of better materials and be more care- 
fully and skillfully made, to preserve the same (or better) 
qualities for casting the fly and killing the fish. 

Perhaps it would be too egotistic to say that this short- 
ening and lightening of rods in general was induced, alto- 
gether, by the introduction of the Henshall Black Bass r-od, 
but I am assured by some of the most candid rod manu- 
facturers, and by many anglers, that this result is in a great 
measure to be attributed directly to the superior excellence 
of this short, light, and elegant rod and to the fact that it 
subserves all the purposes, and promotes the pleasures of 
Black Bass angling in a much greater degree than the old- 
fashioned long and heavy rods. I am very much gratified 
to think that this may be the case. 

The Henshall Black Bass Bait Rod. 

On page 217 of " The Book of the Black Bass " are given 
the specifications of an ash and lancewood rod as made by 
Abbey & Imbrie, which, while entirely correct for a rod of 
maximum weight (ten ounces) for heavy fishing, are incor- 
rect for the standard eight-ounce Henshall rod for ordinary 
Black Bass fishing. The mistake was my own, but was dis- 
covered too late to rectify in that book. It occurred in this 
way : 

Mr. Imbrie applied to me for the dimensions and specifi- 
cations of the Henshall rod, when I was residing at Cyn- 
thiana, Kentucky, and at a time when I had sent all of my 
rods to a coach-maker, in Cincinnati, to be rubbed down 
and varnished for the season's work. I wrote to the coach- 
maker to select the best-balanced eight and a quarter feet 
and eight ounce rod in the lot, and to send me the exact 



FISHING RODS. 71 

dimensions, inclosing a sketch of a rod with the points 
indicated at which to make the measurements. 

The artisan complied strictly with my directions, and I 
sent the diagram and specifications to Abbey & Imbrie, and 
also to Conroy & Bissett. Afterward, upon seeing the rods 
made from these specifications, I found that they were too 
heavy for ordinary Black Bass fishing, and subsequently 
learned that the coach-maker had selected an admirably- 
balanced rod of the required weight and length, but, as it 
was constructed mostly of red cedar, the caliber of the rod 
was, of course, too great for an ash and lancewood rod. 
The rods referred to above, however, are so nicely-bal- 
anced and well-proportioned that they feel as light as some 
eight-ounce rods, and, really, many anglers prefer them to 
those of less weight. 

In the first edition of " The Book of the Black Bass," 
there was an error in one of the diameters of this rod (sec- 
ond piece, large end), which should have been T 7 ^, instead 
of -^ of an inch, as printed. This was a typographical 
error, and was corrected in the subsequent issue. Also, 
the length of each piece as given — 34 J inches — includes 
the ferrules, which project somewhat beyond the wood. 

The correct diameters and measurements of an ash and 
lancewood 

Standard Henshall Rod, 

weighing just eight ounces, and eight and one-fourth feet 
in length, are as follows (these diameters are of the wood, 
or more properly of the inside diameter of the female 
ferrule, where the joints are concerned) : 

Length of each piece (without ferrule), 33 inches. 

Diameter (outside) of end of butt-cap, f of an inch. 



72 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

Length of grip (from extreme butt to reel-seat), 7 

inches. 
Greatest bulge of grip (4J inches from extreme butt), 

1 inch in diameter. 
Length of reel-seat, 4 inches. 
Diameter of reel-seat, J of an inch. 
Diameter of small end of butt-piece (female ferrule, 

inside diameter), f of an inch. 
Diameter of small end of second piece (female ferrule, 

inside diameter), J of an inch. 
Diameter of extreme tip, -^ of an inch. 

The above are the specifications of the original " Com- 
ing Black Bass Rod," referred to on page 214,* and 
which were inadvertently omitted in that connection. 
These measurements are strictly adhered to in every par- 
ticular by Mr. Thos. H. Chubb, of Post Mills, Vermont, 
and Mr. Chas. F. Orvis, of Manchester, Vermont, in their 
ash and lancewood Henshall rods. 

Some rod manufacturers depart from these specifications 
by making the grip of the butt several inches longer, but 
this only adds to the weight and length of the rod without 
being of any real benefit ; on the contrary, it is a positive 
disadvantage to single-handed rods to have a grip, or hand- • 
piece, extending from nine to twelve inches below the reel- 
seat. 

The specifications and measurements' as given above are 
also correct for a split bamboo rod where reel-bands are 
used instead of a solid metal reel-seat, and a rod thus con- 
structed will weigh but eight ounces ; but if a metal reel- 



* Book of the Black Bass, 1881. 



FISHING RODS. 73 

seat is preferred, with the butt-piece tapering rapidly from 
it (instead of a gradual taper), ferrules of -fa of an inch 
less diameter may be employed, making a rod of eight 
ounces, or with reel-bands, of seven and one-half ounces in 
weight. 

When the butt of the Henshall rod is constructed of any 
wood heavier than ash — that is, when the entire rod is made 
of split bamboo, lancewood, bethabara, or greenheart — the 
best plan, in order that the weight of the rod may not ex- 
ceed eight ounces, and that its balance and action be not 
impaired, is to use a short "handle " of lighter wood. 

I have always been partial to a butt-piece, including the 
" grip," being fashioned from a single piece of wood, and 
with reel-bands instead of a metal reel-seat; and where 
this is done, with an artistically-fashioned, swelling hand- 
piece, and with a graceful hollow taper from the reel seat 
to the rod proper, it presents, to my eye, a certain adap- 
tive beauty and fitness that I fail to see in the short, stubby 
handle affixed to many modern rods. However, this is best 
accomplished with some such light wood as ash, black wal- 
nut, or red cedar; and where heavier woods, or split-bam- 
boo, is used for butt-pieces, the short handle of lighter ma- 
terial, if artistically fashioned, is perhaps the better way in 
order to preserve the qualities of elasticity and balance. 

The handle comprises the grip, reel-seat, and from two 
to four inches above the reel-seat, making a handle of from 
thirteen to fifteen inches long, into which the butt-piece 
proper is inserted, the joint being closed by a tapered metal 
collar or winding check. 

The diameter of the lower end of the butt-piece (where 
it joins the handle) should not exceed the diameter of the 
7 



74 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

upper, or smaller end of the butt-piece, more than one- 
eighth of an inch; that is, the inside diameter of the wind- 
ing check must not be greater than one-half inch, where a 
three-eighths ferrule is used on the smaller end. 

There are various ways of finishing the " grip " of the 
handle, which may be formed of the same wood as the 
handle, and smoothed and polished, presenting a very 
beautiful appearance. Where it is desired to obtain a 
firmer hold of the hand, it may be grooved with fine trans- 
verse corrugations, or be fluted longitudinally. Another 
method is to wrap the grip with cord, or strips of rattan ; 
or the grip may be fashioned of hard rubber, and may be 
smooth, or corrugated, or fluted. 

I saw, last year, in England, some fly-rods with the grip 
covered with various materials, as pig-skin, cork, etc. ; 
which were very ornamental and desirable, insuring light- 
ness and a firm grip of the hand. 

Non-doweled Joint. 

One of the specifications_ of the Henshall rod is that the 
joints be made flush, with short, cylindrical ferrules, in- 
stead of the old-fashioned tapered ferrule with dowel and 
mortise ; and as so many of these rods have been sold dur- 
ing the past ten or twelve years, it has had a great tendency 
to introduce and popularize this form of joint, which is now 
also applied to most fly-rods to their great advantage. 

It is now thirty years since I made my first rod with 
flush joints, having, at that time never heard of or seen a 
rod joint without dowels; and ever since I have been a 
firm believer in this improved joint. If there were want- 
ing any proof of the practical superiority of the non-dowel 
joint over the dowel and mortise joint, it would be found 



FISHING RODS. 75 

in the fact that so many old anglers, as Thaddeus Norris, 
Reuben Wood and Chas. F. Orvis, having the mechanical 
skill to construct their own rods, discarded the latter for 
the former style of joint many years ago. And, more- 
over, they all seem to have arrived at this determination 
and conclusion independently of each other. Many of the 
most valuable improvements and inventions have been made 
in like manner, each one supposing himself to be the sole 
inventor. 

I have often thrown apart the tapered and doweled joints 
of the old style rods in casting with both fly and bait rods,^ 
and have had them break near the lower end of the female 
ferrule, in consequence of too deep a mortise at that point ; 
but with the cylindrical, non- dowel joint I have never had 
either accident to occur. 

The cause of the separation and throwing apart of the 
dowel-mortise joint I conceive to be this : the ferrule, 
dowel, and mortise being made tapering, the male ferrule 
with its dowel acts as a w T edge, and the continual springing 
of the rod in casting tends to loosen this wedge, and to 
eventually separate the joint, in the same way that we ex- 
tract a nail by working it from side to side. This fact can 
be easily demonstrated by separating the tapered dowel 
joint by working it back and forth in this manner, with the 
hands close to the ferrules. But it can not be done with 
the flush cylindrical ferrule joint ; to separate the latter it 
is necessary to pull or twist it apart, for no amount of 
springing it back and forth will loosen it. This fact renders 
nugatory and superfluous all locking devices, screws, cleats, 
and strings, which have been proposed to secure the joint, 
and prevent its separation in casting. 

In July, 1886, I used a split- bamboo salmon fly-rod with 



76 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OP THE BLACK BASS. 

non-dowel joints (made by Thos. II. Chubb), on the Resti- 
gouche river, and cast constantly with it for ten days, on 
an average of eight hours a day; but neither the constant 
casting of a long and heavy line, nor the play of a heavy 
fish affected the joints a particle ; they were in as perfect 
apposition upon being taken apart at night as they were 
when put together in the morning. 

During one of my visits to Florida I used for sea fishing 
a heavy Ilenshall ash and lancewood rod of eleven ounces, 
with flush joints, made by Abbey & Imbrie, and an ash and 
Jancewood striped Bass rod of fifteen ounces, witli doweled 
joints, by another maker. With the former I killed redfish, 
drum and tarpon up to forty pounds, crevalle up to thirty, 
bluefish as high as ten, and bonefish of five pounds — I can 
not say just how many, but certainly hundreds of various 
sizes — and that rod is just as good to-day as when I first 
received it. In casting heavy mullet bait, in this style of 
fishing, the rod never came apart, nor was there the slight- 
est loosening of either of the joints, in casting the bait or 
in playing a fish. 

But my experience with the heavier striped Bass rod, 
with doweled joints, was not so pleasant, for although the 
joints seemed to fit perfectly, no looseness or shaking being 
perceptible, they separated several times in casting, and 
once while playing a heavy fish, and it was at last rendered 
hors de combat by breaking square off just below the fer- 
rule of the butt-pieec while casting, in consequence of be- 
ing weakened by the mortise at that point. Now this was 
a handsome, well-finished rod, made of the best materials, 
and with as perfectly fitting doweled joints as I ever saw 
in any rod, and for which I paid a long price. I hold that 
the tapered dowel, in the correspondingly tapered mortise, 



rrsniNG rods. 77 

will become loosened in its bed, like a wedge, from contin- 
ual casting, and the joint will eventually separate. My ex- 
perience proves it. Viewed in this light, a perfectly fitting 
dowel joint, that is, where the dowel is accurately fitted to 
a tapered mortise, is really worse than (as is often the case) 
where the mortise is bored perfectly straight ; in the latter 
case, the joint is formed by the ferrules only, for a tapered 
dowel in a straight hole is worse than useless. 

Ferrules should be short, and perfectly cylindrical. It is 
not necessary for the female butt ferrule to exceed two and 
a half inches in length, nor two inches for the second joint. 
The male ferrules should be of a corresponding length, say 
one inch, which will give all the "hold" required. The fer- 
rules should be perfectly fitted to each other throughout their 
entire extent. The lower end of the male ferrule, and the 
bottom of the female ferrule should be protected by metal 
caps or disks, soldered on, to exclude moisture. The fer- 
rules should be fitted without cutting the wood, and a 
wrapping of silk put on at the ends for a finish. A good 
plan is to wrap on a guide or ring immediately below the 
female ferrules, so that the upper wrapping of the guide 
extends to the ferrule, which thus serves a double purpose. 

Swell ferrules are unnecessary, and are neither so good 
nor strong as cylindrical and uniform ones. The ends of 
the ferrules may, however, be split, or serrated, or be swaged 
into a hexagonal form for split-bamboo rods, to give a more 
perfect fit, without any disadvantage in other ways. Fer- 
rules may be banded if the metal is very thin, which is apt 
to be the case with those drawn from German silver, which 
can not be drawn so thick as brass. Ferrules should be 
affixed with shellac or cement instead of using a metal pin, 
which has a tendency to weaken the rod, and renders the 



78 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

removal of the ferrule more difficult to the angler for the 
purpose of repair. 



-■lyiii- - my 



ayiHI^^^IIF— =r^ m 



Ash and Lancewood Henshall Rod. 
(Thos. H. Chubb.) 

In order to show the different styles of Henshall rod, I 
will briefly describe several that are before me as I write. 
First are an ash and lancewood and a split-bamboo, made 
by Thos. II. Chubb. Both are made exactly according to 
the specifications given on page 72, with butt-piece taper- 
ing gradually from the reel-seat, and with three-eighths and 
one-quarter inch cylindrical ferrules. The grip in both is 
wound with cane strips and silk, and both have reel bands 
instead of metal reel-seats. They are serviceable, hand- 
some rods, weighing each just eight ounces, with an action 
that is just right. Mr. Chubb writes me: "We try to have 
the * Henshall rods ' as near to your specifications as possi- 
ble, and this we know is what makes them take so well. 
We sell a great many, and they all seem to give the best 
satisfaction." 

The next is an all-lancewood with short, fluted handle of 
black walnut, made by Chas. F. Orvis. It is likewise made 
strictly in accordance with the specifications already noted. 
The fluted black walnut handle is in pretty contrast to the 
yellow lancewood and the mountings, while the flutings pre- 
vent the rod from slipping or turning in the hand, and less 
grip is required to hold the rod. Mr. Orvis's work is so 
well known in connection with the Henshall rod, that fur- 






FISHING RODS. 79 

ther notice here is not needed. This rod weighs just eight 
ounces, and has the correct style and sizes of ferrules, while 
its finish is in keeping with all of Mr. Orvis's careful work. 

Next is a split-bamboo, by A. G. Spalding & Bros., 241 
Broadway, New York, with German silver ferrules of the 
the correct sizes and pattern, and metal reel-seat. It is a 
handsome, well-made rod, nicely balanced, and with a fine 
action. It has a very ornamental butt-piece and handle ; 
the latter, above the reel- seat and beloAv the grip, being 
formed of alternate strips of bamboo and red cedar ; the 
cedar being painted black and polished is in fine contrast 
to the light colored bamboo. The butt, however, below the 
reel-seat, is several inches too long, which adds unnecessa- 
rily to the weight and length of an otherwise perfect Hen- 
shall rod. 

An all-bethabara, by A. B. Shipley & Son, of Phila- 
delphia, with a hard rubber grip, fluted spirally, and with 
solid German silver ferrules and mountings, including a 
metal reel-seat, and with agate-lined tips, is an exquisite 
rod, both in construction and action. It has the prescribed 
ferrules in size and form, and is wrapped with silk in the 
manner of a split-bamboo. After an experience of several 
seasons, I find that bethabara is very tough and elastic, with 
a rebound or resiliency found in no other rod but a first- 
class split-bamboo, or in one of steel. This quality is of the 
utmost importance ; for a rod is thereby always rendered 
straight, not being so likely to become permanently set or 
curved from a continual strain. Bethabara makes a very 
quick, lively rod, and the only possible objection that can 
be raised against it is its weight — being heavier even than 
greenheart. However, I find that many anglers are willing 



80 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS, 



o _ 

■a* 

M.S- 



■8*. 



W • 

o W 
° ™ 






The above are all three-piece rods, but are shown with extra tips. 



FISHING RODS. 81 

to put up with an ounce or two of extra weight on account 
of its other desirable qualities. 

A rod composed entirely of lancewood, made by Abbey 
& Imbrie, has a handle, including grip and reel-seat, con- 
structed of hard rubber, the grip being corrugated to in- 
sure a firm hold of the hand. This is an excellent rod, 
with German silver mountings, and the only fault, to my 
mind, is a grip of unnecessary length that adds somewhat 
to the weight and length of the rod. I am aware that 
many anglers prefer a long grip, extending a foot or more 
below the reel-seat, but this is essentially wrong in a single- 
handed rod, as the Henshall rod is intended to be. In a 
rod that is held in both hands a long grip is entirely 
proper. 

And last, and least (in weight, but in nothing else), comes 
a split-bamboo, made by Mr. H. L. Leonard, for Wm. Mills 
& Son, and which he styles " Dr. Henshall's Favorite." 

This rod is made according to the table of specifications 
before given, except that the ferrules are -fa of an inch less 
in diameter, and the grip is just six inches long. The 
handle is made of spruce, with a plain grooved reel-seat and 
reel-bands, and is wound above and below with rattan strips 
and silk thread. The mountings are all of German silver, 
and the metal tips are lined with agate. This rod weighs 
hardly seven ounces, and is the most powerful one for its 
inches and ounces that I ever handled. It is a work of art 
in its construction, and a marvel of ingenuity and skill in 
its action. 

The list of rods given above makes a handsome and, to 
an angler, a delightful exhibition of skill and good taste, 
and shows what remarkable progress has been made in this 
branch of industry, of late years by our rod makers, who, now 



82 

i 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



* f 



- 



<D 
I I 

* o 

O 



o 

a 



n 







O § 

tf to 

*-8 



e3 P< 



The above are all three-piece rods, but are shown with extra tips. 



FISHING RODS. 83 

as ever, lead the world. The anglers of America, and of Eu- 
rope, are under a lasting debt of gratitude to our skilled 
rtfd makers, for their efforts in this direction. In order to 
become convinced of the justice of these remarks, it is only 
necessary for the veterans of the gentle art to take a retro- 
spective glance, and compare the rods of a quarter of a 
century ago with those now turned out by our best makers. 

Black Bass Fly Rods. 

There are anglers, of course, who will always prefer bait- 
fishing for Black Bass ; and, moreover, with the present 
short, light, and graceful " Henshall rods," rapid-running 
reels, lines of small caliber, and approved hooks, bait-fishing 
is indeed a pleasure ; and the highest branch of it, minnow- 
casting, is the baccalaureate degree of angling, next only 
in degree to fly-fishing, which is the M. A. (Master of An- 
gling) of the gentle art. 

The tool of first importance for fly-fishing is the fly-rod, 
and fly-rods have been much shortened during the past few 
years. The fly-casting tournaments of the National Rod 
and Reel Association have demonstrated that the long and 
comparatively heavy rods of a decade ago were a mistake, 
as better work has been done with shorter and lighter rods. 
I have experimented a good deal in this direction during the 
past five years, and am now convinced that for Black Bass 
fishing, the fly-rod, if constructed of the best materials, 
and made in a first-class manner, should not be less than 
ten, nor more than ten and a half feet in length, and should 
weigh from seven to eight ounces (with reel bands instead 
of a metal reel-seat). 

To be more explicit, a rod weighing seven and one-half 
ounces, and measuring ten and a quarter feet in length, is 



84 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS, 

the correct tool for ordinary Black Bass fly-fishing ; for it 
must be borne in mind that it is not the largest Bass that 
rise to the fly, and a lighter rod can, consequently, be used 
than in bait fishing ; though where the Bass run exception- 
ably large, and especially for the waters of Florida, a foot 
in length and an ounce in weight may be added. 

The rod should have a stiffer back than trout fly-rods of 
the same weight and length, but should still retain nearly 
the same pliancy, though necessarily most of the flexibility 
will be in the upper two-thirds of the rod. This gives pli- 
ancy for casting, resiliency for striking, and plenty of 
" backbone " for playing and landing the fish. Of course, 
a trout rod of about these dimensions will answer very well 
for Black Bass fishing, but as the flies to be used are gen- 
erally larger than trout flies, and as the Bass is usually a 
much heavier fish than the brook-trout, the rod will require 
a little more backbone than is usually found in trout rods. 

To obtain the necessary spring, snap, and stiffish back 
required in a Black Bass fly-rod, much consideration must 
be given to the material of which it is to be constructed. 
In my opinion, there is no material that combines so many 
good and essential qualities as split bamboo, if of the best 
quality, and if it is made up in a first-class manner. It is 
strong, flexible, comparatively light, and is the most re- 
silient material used in rod-making, approaching steel more 
nearly in this quality than any other wood. Ash and lance- 
wood, greenheart, bethabara, and some other woods, when 
carefully selected, make excellent rods, but the best are in- 
ferior to a good split-bamboo rod. On the other hand, a 
first-class bethabara, or ash and lancewood fly-rod, is better 
than many split-bamboo rods as now made. 

Mr. Thomas H. Chubb makes a rod from the specifica- 



FISHING RODS. 85 

tions as given above, which he styles in his catalogue the 
" Henshall Black Bass Fly Bod." I have used two of these 
rods during the past season, and they are certainly the best 
rods for Black Bass fly-fishing, taking every thing into con- 
sideration, that I have ever used. They are short enough 
to be handy ; have spring and life and pliancy for casting 
and retrieving a long line with ease ; and have backbone 
and strength for killing quickly. 

These are three-piece rods, and are made in split-bam- 
boo and in lancewood. They have the short, cylindrical 
ferrule and non-dowel joint ; have reel-bands and plain 
grooved reel-seat — the short handle being made of willow 
or spruce, with the grip wound with cane ; and the mount- 
ings are German silver. 

The Henshall Black Bass Fly-Rod. 
The specifications for the above-described rod, in lance- 
wood, and weighing 7 J ounces, are as follows : 

Total length of rod, 10 feet, 3 inches. 

Length of each piece, without ferrule, 41 inches. 

Length of handle, from extreme butt to top of wind- 
ing check, 12 inches. 

Length of reel-seat, 5 inches. 

Diameter of reel-seat, j of an inch. 

Length of grip, 7 inches. 

Diameter of greatest bulge of grip, ^-| of an inch. 

Diameter of butt-piece at handle-joint, |f of an inch. 

Diameter (inside), female ferrule, butt-piece, f of an 
nch. 

Diameter (inside), female ferrule, second piece, -j-J of 
an inch. 

Diameter, extreme tip, -^ of an inch. 



86 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

It will be observed that while the ferrules used in this 
rod are the same as those in a short-handled Henshall min- 
now-casting rod of split-bamboo, the greater length of the 
several pieces in the fly-rod gives it greater pliancy. 

Steel Fishing Rods. 

Anglers have been wont to say of good rods that they 
were as pliable and strong as steel, or were steel-like in 
action, little thinking that a real rod of steel would ever be 
made. But there has recently been introduced a steel fish- 
ing rod by the Horton Manufacturing Company, of Bristol, 
Connecticut, which is really an article of much merit. 

Such a thing as a steel rod has been talked of as one of the 
possibilities, but I never imagined how it could be success- 
fully accomplished. I knew that a solid steel rod would be 
far too heavy, and I could not understand how T a steel tube 
could be made with "play" enough to answer the require- 
ments of a fishing rod. 

The difficulty has been solved, however, in the Horton 
steel rod, which is composed of three tapering steep tubes, 
telescoping one within the other. Each tube is formed of 
a thin strip of steel, bent around a mandrel, the edges in 
close apposition, but not brazed ; and therein lies the whole 
secret, for, being practically a slit tube, it admits of a 
twisting as well as a bending motion, thus simulating the 
action of a wooden rod ; the twisting motion could not be 
obtained in a brazed or drawn tube. The tubes are exceed- 
ingly well tempered, which I imagine is one of the most 
important features of their construction. 

The rod has a wooden handle, like an ordinary rod, with 
a small opening just above the reel-seat, through which the 
line passes, running through the inside of the rod and out 



FISHING RODS. 87 

at the end of the tip. I have tried one of these rods, ten 
feet long, and weighing eleven ounces, and find that there 
is no more friction of the line (if as much) in running 
through the inside of the rod, than in running through 
rings or guides. The caliber of the rod is about the same 
as one of split-bamboo of similar length and weight, and 
its action is not very different in casting the fly or a minnow. 
Further than this I can not say, as I have not tried it in 
actual fishing. I will say this much, however : I believe it 
to be a good thing, and a valuable invention, and, though 
not equal to a first-class split-bamboo or wooden rod, it is 
fully as good, if not better, than many rods that are sold 
for more money, and it is virtually indestructible. 

It can be, of course, improved, and I understand that 
the company will introduce a lighter rod next season, 
weighing eight ounces or less. 



CHAPTER X. 

FISHING REELS. 

Next to a good rod there is nothing that contributes to 
the pleasure of the angler so much as a well-made reliable 
reel, and I am happy to be able to state that the improve- 
ments in fishing reels for Black Bass fishing have fully kept 
pace with the improvements in fishing rods. Manufactur- 
ers and inventors have taxed their ingenuity m devising the 
best and most suitable reels for both fly-fishing and bait- 
fishing, and the American reel, as the American rod, is to- 
day the best in the world. 

" But the enterprise of some makers has been directed m 
wron„ channels; for instance, we now have multiplying 
reels made with both a « drag " and a « click,' which com- 
bination might be termed a « mechanical tautology, and is 
the perverted outgrowth of what was originally a valid and 
useful arrangement. 

The manufacture of the now famous Kentucky reel was 
first begun some forty years ago. They were, and are still 
made with a drag and an « alarm,'' both being operated by 
flat, sliding buttons. The use of the drag is obvious in such 
a free-running reel. The alarm consists of a piece of thin 
W atch spring bent back upon itself somewhat in the form 
of an elongated - U," one end being attached to the s .ding 
block, the other end free, to engage in the small steel pin- 
ion on the end of the shaft of the spool. 

This reel was originally made for bait-fishing only, and 
•(88) 



FISHING REELS. 89 

the "alarm" was not intended in any sense to represent, 
or subserve the functions of a " click " proper, the spring 
not being stiff enough to retard the action of the reel. It 
was invented to meet the requirements of still-fishinor 
where the butt of the cane rod was frequently stuck in the 
bank (often by a spike provided for that purpose), thus re- 
lieving the lazy angler from the necessity of holding the 
rod or watching his float while waiting for a " bite," until 
the singing of the "alarm" announced that welcome con- 
tingency. 

Now a " click " proper is a very different affair from the 
" alarm " of the Kentucky reel. The former is a pawl en- 
gaging, constantly and permanently, with the shaft pinion, 
and operated by a strong spring, so as to materially retard 
the action of the reel, and is used only in reels intended 
for fly-fishing. Originally all such reels were the single- 
action " click reels," but now many multiplying reels are 
made to subserve the same purpose by an " adjustable 
click," that is, a click which can be readily thrown in or 
out of gear. This is a very gocd arrangement, and all ex- 
pensive multiplying reels should be constructed in this 
way, so as to admit of their being used for either bait-fish- 
ing or fly-fishing. In this case the adjustable click answers 
also all the purposes of a " drag," rendering the latter 
superfluous. 

And now for the reason why the click and drag exist in 
combination in some reels. Of late years, the popularity 
and excellence of the " Kentucky " multiplying reel induced 
certain manufacturers to imitate it. This would be all well 
enough if they produced an exact imitation; but, not realiz- 
ing the proper function of the " alarm," they substituted 
for it the well-know T n " click," and also retained the " drag," 



90 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

so as to conform to the outward appearance and ostensible 
construction of the Kentucky reel. Of course, this com- 
bination reel was made to " sell.'' 

I have always advised those ordering the Kentucky reel 
either to have the alarm spring made stiff enough to act as 
a click, and to discard the drag; or to discard the alarm 
altogether, and have the drag spring made light enough to 
subserve the purposes of fly-fishing. I like the latter plan 
the best. 

A very much needed reform has been introduced in re- 
gard to the sizes of reel-plates, or cross bars. Heretofore, 
reel-plates w T ere made of any and all sizes; or, in case 
where a manufacturer made both rods and reels, he fash- 
ioned the reel-plate to fit the reel-seat on his own particular 
rods, without reference to the reel-seats of rods of other 
makers. Consequently, anglers have suffered very much in 
the past through the non-fitting of reel-plates to reel-seats. 
This evil became so aggravated that the National Rod and 
Reel Association took cognizance of the matter, and after 
conferring with the manufacturers as to the expediency and 
desirability of adopting a uniformity in the sizes of reel- 
plates and reel -seats, it was finally resolved, at a meeting 
of the said society, that the standard size of reel- plates for 
Black Bass and trout reels should be two and a half inches 
long, one-half .inch w T ide, with a curve made upon a circle 
of an inch in diameter, and with a thickness at the ends of 
the plate of one-fiftieth of an inch. Most of our manufac- 
turers conform to this rule, and it is earnestly hoped that 
all will eventually do so. 

The best reel-seat is the old shallow groove cut in the 
wood, with reel-bands. It is lighter than any other reel 
fastening, and subserves its purpose as well" as any of the 



FISHING REELS. 91 

modern inventions. Any reel can be made to fit it in a few 
moments. If it is too shallow for the cross-bar of a reel, 
it is only necessary to deepen it with a gouge chisel or a 
penknife. If the reel fits too loosely, a piece of paper or 
cardboard, placed under the cross-bar, tightens it. With 
solid metal reel-seats there is no remedy but by altering 
the cross-bar of the reel, which sometimes entails a guod 
deal of labor and no little skill ; and it may have to be al- 
tered a second or a third time to fit the metal reel-seats 
of other rods. 

The solid metal reel- seat subserves no important purpose, 
and adds one or two ounces to the weight of the rod. It 
is idle to say that the additional weight gives the rod a 
better balance — it should balance without it; or that the 
wood may swell (without it) and cause the reel to stick — 
if the groove is well varnished and the rod properly used 
it will not swell. The fact is, the metal reel- seat is put on 
to make the rod " sell." If rod makers will not conform 
to the standard size of reel-seats, as now adopted, then let 
them go back to the old grooved, wooden reel-seat. 

Click Reels. 
Among the improved click reels is one patented by Mr. 
Thomas H. Chubb, which, in addition to having an improved 
and reliable " click," is of a new and novel form. The end 
plates, instead of being the usual flat disks, are struck up 
so as to be convex on the outside, with aflat and narrow rim, 
or edge. The inner side, or concavity of the end plates, 
being opposed to the concavity of the spool plates, allows 
an elliptical space between them, in which the spring and 
pawl of the click are arranged in an improved manner, and 



92 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




Treble Multiplying Reel. 
(Wm. Mills & Son.) 




New Style Click Reel. 
(Thos. H. Chubb.) 



FISHING REELS. 93 

are thus entirely protected. The reel is perfectly sym- 
metrical in form, and very strongly, though neatly and 
lightly made, of German silver. 

Win. Mills & Son manufacture a very novel combined 
click and multiplying reel, which is eminently well adapted 
for fly-fishing. A reference to the illustration will show 
that its peculiar mechanism consists in an application of 
the principle of the epicycloidal wheel. The invention 
consists of a fixed ring, with teeth on the inside, attached 
to the frame of the reel ; a spur wheel upon the shaft of 
the spool; and a pinion engaging with said toothed ring 
and wheel. The pinion is riveted to the outside plate 
(which is a revolving disk) of the reel, to which is also af- 
fixed the handle. By this arrangement the gearing is all 
in the same plane, and the spool moves in the same direc- 
tion as the handle, only three times as fast, thus making it 
a treble multiplying reel. 

The automatic drag of this reel is also a novel feature. 
The central pinion is countersunk to admit a coiled watch 
spring with a ratchet or pawl on its free extremity, which 
engages with shallow cogs, or cams, on the end of the axis 
of the spool. As the line is pulled off the spool, it is re- 
tarded somewhat by this ratchet-wheel, the same as by a 
click; but in reeling up the line the ratchet and cogs are 
inoperative, and the line is reeled rapidly and without 
hindrance. 

Thus it has all the advantages of a single click reel, with 
a protected handle, to which is added its value as a triple 
multiplier. It is constructed entirely of metal, and is a 
very light and compact reel. 



94 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




Henshali-VanAntwerp Keel. 
(Thos. H. Chubb.) 




"Silver King" Multiplying Reel. 

(Thos. J. Conroy.) 



fishing reels. 95 

Multiplying Reels. 

But the greatest advance, perhaps, has been made in the 
direction of multiplying reels for Black Bass fishing. 
There are now a half dozen reels in the market, from which 
the angler may take his choice, with the positive assurance, 
and with the utmost confidence, that he is sure to get one 
that will fully answer his purpose, however he may choose. 
Among so many really good ones, comparisons are indeed 
odious, and it is simply a matter of taste as to which is 
selected. 

The " Henshall-Van Antwerp " reel is manufactured by 
Thos. H. Chubb, of Post Mills, Vermont. The reel was 
designed by Dr. Wm. Van Antwerp, of Mt. Sterling, Ken- 
tucky (one of the Fish Commissioners of that state) and 
myself. It is a perfectly symmetrical reel, the end plates 
being struck up so as to form, with the spool plates, a con- 
cavity at each end, in one of which is placed the gearing, 
and the adjustable click and automatic drag in the other. 

The automatic drag was designed to meet the require- 
ments of those anglers who can not educate the thumb to 
control the rendering of the line in casting the minnow. 
For my own use I prefer, as does any expert, a very rapid 
multiplier without click or drag of any kind, in bait fish- 
ing; but there are good anglers who can not, for some rea- 
son, successfully acquire the knack of thumbing the spool 
in a satisfactory manner, and the line will overrun and 
snarl, and the spool backlash in spite of their most patient 
and persistent efforts. To meet this difficulty the automatic 
drag acts in the place of the thumb, as the amount of press- 
ure brought to bear upon the spool can be regulated, auto- 
matically, by a sliding button on the side of the reel, and 



96 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




Imperial" Black Bass Reel. 
(Wm. Mills & Son.) 




Imbrie" Compensating Reel. 

(Abbey & Iinbrie.) 



FISHING REELS. 97 

overrunning or backlnshing be prevented; or the pressure 
on the spool can be regulated by the lever- drag, or thumb- 
piece, which operates the same spring as the sliding button 
just mentioned. With this thumb-piece any amount of 
tension can be brought to bear upon the spool, when cast- 
ing, or the line stopped, simply by the pressure of the 
thumb ; or when a fish is hooked the tension can likewise 
be regulated by the thumb-piece from a free-running spool 
to a light drag, heavy drag, or a complete stop. On the rim 
of the end plate is an adjustable click, to be used only in 
fly-fishing. It will hereafter be placed on the same side of 
the reel as the automatic drag. Either the click or the drag 
can be operated while the reel is in motion. 

The bearings of the shaft are compensating, by which it 
can be properly adjusted, or any wear taken up. This 
compensating principle I know T to be a good one, as it is 
the same as applied to reels about forty years ago by Mr. 
Snyder, a watchmaker of Paris, Kentucky, and a contem- 
rorary of Mr. Meek, of Frankfort, Kentucky. The reels 
of both of these makers were built upon the same plan, 
but Mr. Snyder constructed his spool-shaft with conical 
ends, fitting into screw-pivots with beveled recesses. I ex- 
amined one of Snyder's reels, a year or two ago, that had 
been in constant use for more than thirty years, which, by 
virtue of the compensating device, ran as smoothly as when 
first made. 

Mr. Chubb' s reel is made of the best quality of German 
silver, and has steel gears and steel pivots throughout. 
The wheels and pinions are cut with oblique teeth or cogs, 
which gives greater power in reeling and more freedom in 
casting than the ordinary straight cogs. The reel is made 
9 



98 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

in two styles, to multiply two or four times, at the choice 

of The/it::;, 65 »****, *~ -^, ^ rT i 

stvls of multiplying reels for Black Bass fishing, the best 
styles o m up y 8 ^ ^^ ^ wlth 

^lineal d P lates D of hard rubber, and German silver 
J ap spool, and handle. It has full steel pivots balan 
hand e screw-off caps for oiling, and a patent adjust be 
S n" click on the back plate, that can be operated wbde 
he reel is in motion (and with the rod hand if necessary) 
IndTs as well adapted for fly-fishing as bait-fishing, being 
Tl lighl It is a double multiplier, and a very handsome 
Ittantlal reel; and being fitted accurately in all its part , 
ittrelrkably smooth and rapid, and is made m a first- 

Tc is a very desirable feature, causing the spool to revolve 

I swiftly and noiselessly as though running on jewels 

Id Is t/e hearings become worn they - £ adj-.d a 

fori Kv the device mentioned, lnis consists oi 

through the center of each outside plate, o. disk. 1 

ads'of these pivot-screws are covered by caps in he u n^ 
manner, by removing .hich the pivots car i be «^*£ 
or out, adjusting their conical points perfect!) to the 



FISHING REELS. 99 

cal recesses of the shaft. By this compensating device the 
reel can be made to run smoothly always, thus avoiding the 
wabbling, unsteady, and noisy working of the spool in or- 
dinary reels after they become worn, and renders this por- 
tion of the reel " practically everlasting." 

Win, Mills & Son's new " Imperial" Black Bass reel is 
another very meritorious candidate for the favorable con- 
sideration of the angler. It is a double multiplier, with 
steel pivots and screw-off caps for oiling; has a strong 
frame of German silver, with raised pillars, and end plates 
of hard rubber. By the raised pillars the capacity of the 
spool is much increased without adding to the size or 
weight of the reel. It has an improved adjustable click on 
the back plate (the cut wrongly shows it on the crank plate), 
allowing it to be operated while the reel is in motion, and 
is as well adapted for the fly-rod as for minnow-casting. 

A novel feature in connection with this reel is a simple 
device for throwing the handle in and out of gear, so that 
in casting the minnow the spool revolves entirely independ- 
ent of the handle and gearing, thus doing away with con- 
siderable friction and allowing the bait to be cast with 
greater ease and delicacy. The device for this purpose is 
operated by a short, arrow-shaped lever which occupies the 
position on the crank plate that is wrongly appropriated by 
the click button in the illustration on page 96. 



100 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OP THE BLACK BASS. 
D E F 




Tapered Enameled Fly Lines. 

(Wm Mills & Son.) 



5 4 3 2 1 
G F E D C 



I £ 



fit 1 



Braided Silk Lines. 
(Wm. Mills & Son.) 



CHAPTER XI. 

FISHING LINES. 

While the tapered, enameled silk line is all that can be 
desired for fly-fishing, the lines heretofore furnished for 
bait-fishing were open to several objections. On page 258 
of " The Book of the Black Bass," I made the statement 
that the perfect line for Black Bass bait-fishing was yet in 
the future, and suggested how a much better line than any 
in use could be made, and expressed the hope that such a 
line would soon be produced, as I had invited the attention 
of the extensive fishing line manufacturing concern of the 
Henry Hall Company to the matter. 

I am happy to be able to state that suitable lines were 
shortly afterward manufactured by the said company, in 
response to those suggestions, and have been in the market 
for several years. These lines seem to be all that can be 
wished for as reel lines in bait-fishing, and the Bass fisher 
has much to congratulate himself for. 

Reel Lines for Bait-fishixg. 
The Henry Hall Company's lines, just alluded to, are 
styled letter " H," or No. 6 in size ; and while they are a 
third less in caliber than the " G," or No. 5 line, they seem 
to contain the same amount of stock, and to be fully as 
strong, but being more closely braided they are much 
smaller in size, and more compact. They absorb but little 

(101) 



4 
102 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

water, and consequently render very freely in casting the 
minnow. 

These lines are made in several styles, and of the best 
selected dressed and raw silk. The dressed or boiled silk 
line is very firm and light, weighing not quite two grains to 
the yard — one hundred yards weighing one hundred and 
eighty-five grains. It is of the same caliber as the No. 1 
sea-grass line, and fully as strong, sustaining a strain of 
eight pounds. It is of a pinkish-drab or light chocolate 
color. 

The raw silk line is very hard and compact, and a trifle 
heavier than the boiled silk line, weighing about two and 
one-third grains to the yard, or two hundred and thirty-five 
grains to a hundred yards. It is mottled in color, usually 
white and green, like most raw silk lines. It sustains a 
dead weight of ten pounds, which is at least three times the 
strength actually required with a pliant rod. I have often 
killed Bass averaging three pounds with a line that would 
not sustain more than a pound, dead weight. 

The Henry Hall Company also makes this line water- 
proof by a new process, which does not detract in any way 
from its use as a bait line, as the waterproofing does not di- 
minish its flexibility or softness in any degree — a result 
that had before been impossible to obtain, as all waterproof 
lines Avere too stiff" and unyielding for minnow-casting. 

The process of waterproofing, however, makes the line 
perfectly black in color, which at first sight might be deemed 
an objection by some. But I have experimented with this 
line by numerous practical tests, alternating with lines of 
lighter tints, and have never discovered that it made the 
slightest difference to the Bass themselves. And if we will 
reflect a moment, and hark back to our youthful experience 



FISHING LINES. 103 

in angling, when we fished for fingerling trout, shiners, 
gudgeons, or sunfish, with black sewing silk for lines, or in 
our adolescent days, when we made our own lines for Black 
Bass fishing, by twisting together two or three strands of 
sewing silk — we somehow always preferred black silk ; and 
we were just as successful in luring the wily Bass with 
those somber, home-made lines, as we were after the braided, 
light-tinted lines came into vogue. 

The Hall Company also makes a cable-laid line of boiled 
silk — No. 1, or about the same size as the "H" line — 
which is the best twisted line I ever saw for bait-fishing, on 
account of its non-liability to kink, as compared to other 
twisted lines ; indeed, for still fishing it will answer every 
purpose, and even where a moderate amount of casting is 
done. The one advantage of a twisted line is that it ab- 
sorbs but little water, for it twists all the harder for being 
wet, and thus causes kinking ; but when cable-laid this de- 
testable contingency is obviated to a considerable extent. 

Reel Lines for Fly-fishing. 

There has been no improvement in the best enameled, 
waterproof line for fly-fishing, as it has been about perfect 
for a number of years. However, some manufacturers 
whose work in this class of lines was formerly not very 
satisfactory, have lately shown a commendable spirit by 
turning out much better lines. 

Recently, when in England, I examined the best English 
fly-lines, but there was nothing that could compare to those 
of American manufacture. London dealers showed me, 
with much pride, the metal-center line, which they claimed 
to be the best fly line in the world ; but A. G. Spalding & 
Bros, sent me a metal-center, enameled silk line that is 



104 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

far ahead of the best produced in England, and the equal 
of any enameled line made in the United States. 

The advantage of a metal-center line is that it can be 
used of a smaller caliber and still retain the same weight 
as a larger line; and at the same time it is probably a little 
stronger, though for that matter any of the enameled lines 
are strong enough. 

The metal center consists of an extremely small copper 
wire, around which the line is braided. The wire is so fine 
that it does not stiffen the line to an appreciable degree, as 
might be imagined. As the line is so thoroughly water- 
proof, there is not much probability of the wire becoming 
oxidized or rusted. 



CHAPTER XII. 
SILK-WORM GUT. 

It has long been known that from the larvae of several 
species of our native silk-worm moths, much longer strands 
of gut, for leaders, can be produced", than from the Chinese 
silk-worm ; but, while strands of satisfactory lengths have 
been frequently taken, there seems to be a want of some 
special knowledge, or a lack of some peculiar skill in the 
proper treatment or manipulation of the larvae, or the silk- 
glands, or in the drawing out of the fluid silk, in order to 
produce the silken strands of the desired strength. 

Among those who have been interested in the matter is 
Mr. Chas. F. Orvis, of Manchester, Vermont, who, having 
procured a number of cocoons of the two species of native 
silk-worms, known as Platysamia cecropia and Telea poly- 
phemus, hatched and raised the larvae very successfully. 
In an article (Forest and Stream, 1886, December 16) giving 
a history of his experience, Mr. Orvis says : 

" We drew many strands from both varieties, each worm giv- 
ing two strands, i. e., one from each sac. Before drawing, we 
put the worms in a dilute solution of acetic acid, or of weak 
vinegar, which seems to render it more tenacious. After leaving 
them for a few hours, they w T ere taken out and drawn to their 
greatest length, as related in regard to the Chinese worm. The 
length was all that could be desired, for we obtained from the 
cecropia strands over three yards (nine feet) long, and from the 

(105) 



106 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

polyphemus strands nearly as long ; and the color was perfection, 
i. e. , delicately tinted either green or pale brown, according to the 
variety. But alas, our hopes were vain ; for the next day, when 
they had dried, we found that they had but little strength com- 
pared with the product of the Chinese worm. It could hardly 
have been in the drawing, for we had previously drawn gut from 
the Chinese worm, proceeding in the same manner, and it was 
hard and strong. We drew many strands, but all with no better 
success." 

It will be observed that Mr. Orvis placed the larvae, be- 
fore drawing, a " few hours " in " weak vinegar," while Dr. 
Garlick (page 272, " Book of the Black Bass "), who claimed 
to have produced strands equal in strength to Spanish gut, 
drew the worm without any kind of preparation. 

The practice in China and Spain is to soak the worm in 
vinegar of full strength for from two to twelve (accounts 
vary) hours, according to temperature, the time required 
being less in hot weather than in cool ; and, as Mr. Orvis 
states that he had previously drawn gut from the Chinese 
worm, " hard and strong," by the same treatment that he 
applied to the American worm, it would seem that cither 
the foreign method is not well understood, or that the 
American silk-worm requires a different mode of treatment 
in this respect, or, according to Dr. Garlick, no treatment 
at all. 

It is hoped that experiments in this direction will con- 
tinue to be made, until the native gut can be produced fully 
as strong as the best Spanish gut. If it can be done there 
is a fortune in it for somebody, for a leader in a single 
piece of from six to nine feet in length, and as strong as 
the Spanish gut, will bring a good price. 

An easy way to experiment in the matter would be to 



SILK-WORM GUT. 107 

collect the fully grown larvae just before they are ready to 
spin their cocoons, as they are quite plentiful in the central 
portions of the United States, especially in button bush or 
water-sycamore swamps. In order to enable any one to 
identify the moths and their larvae, the following good de- 
scriptions are abridged from C. H. Fernald ( u Standard 
Natural History," S. E. Cassino & Co., Boston, 1884, vol. 
ii, pp. 456-457) : 

The Cecropia silk- worm, Platysamia cecropia, which has 
a wide distribution in the United States is one of our largest 
moths, expanding six inches or more. It has a most re- 
markable appetite, feeding on no less than fifty different 
species of plants, among which are the apple, plum, maple, 
elm, oak, beech, birch, willow, etc. The female lays from 
two to three hundred eggs, which are creamy- white and 
striped with reddish, and hatch in eight or ten days. The 
young caterpillars are black, and change in color and size at 
each moult until mature, when they are three or four inches 
long, and of a pale green, or bluish-green color. The tu- 
bercles on the third and fourth segments are coral red ; the 
others on the back are yellow, except those on the second 
and last segments, which, with those along the sides, are 
blue ; and all are more or less armed with black bristles. 
They construct elongated, coarse, dull brown cocoons. The 
wings of the moth are of a rich brown color, sprinkled with 
gray scales, with a large kidney-shaped spot, shaded more 
or less with red, and margined with black, near the middle 
of each wing. A red band, edged on the inside with white, 
crosses the wings near the middle. The outer edges of the 
wings are pale silky brown, through which runs an irregular 
black line on the fore wings, and a double broken band on 
the hind ones. The base of the fore wings is dull red, with 



108 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

a curved white and black line, and near their apex is a 
black eye-spot with a bluish crescent in it, and a shade of 
lilac above. 

The American silk-worm, Telea polyphemus, is our best 
native silk-producing species. Each female lays from two 
to three hundred eggs, which are about one-sixteenth of an 
inch in diameter, slightly convex on the top and bottom, 
the convex portions whitish, and the nearly cylindrical 
sides brown. These hatch in from ten to twelve days. 
The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of oak, elm, etc., and 
when full-grown is over three inches long, of a light-green 
color, with seven oblique yellow lines on each side, and the 
tubercles on the segments orange with a silvery spot on the 
middle. The last segment is bordered by a purplish-brown 
V-shaped mark. It spins a whitish oval cocoon, which 
often falls to the ground, where the insect remains during 
the winter in the pupa state. 

Those especially interested are referred to the articles of 
Mr. Trouvelot (American Naturalist, 1867), for his expe- 
rience and experiments in obtaining the silk, and in rear- 
ing the American silk-worms. 

Leaders. 

Anglers, now as ever, are continually theorizing and 
speculating as to the most suitable colors for leaders, in 
order to render them as little discernible to the fish as pos- 
sible. Many experiments to this end have been made by 
using aquaria, or glass tanks especially constructed, or by 
the experimenter putting his head beneath the surface of 
the water, in order to view the leader through the same 
medium as the fish. 

But the praiseworthy experiments to determine the color 



SILK- WORM GUT. 109 

of leaders least visible to the fish, however commendable, are 
sure to end in disappointment ; such, at least, has been my 
experience. Experiments to this end have been made by 
practical anglers for many years with no other result than to 
show that the finer the gut the better, without reference to 
color. My own experiments in this direction have not been 
few, and I have demonstrated, to my own satisfaction at 
least, that any color of leader or snell will answer equally 
well, from hyaline to black, though I confess that I was 
formerly partial to a slight bluish stain, or mist color, and 
perhaps without any well-defined reason, except that it 
ought to be least visible to the fish. 

But when we enter the province of speculation and con- 
jecture, and try to see for the fish, or, in other words, to 
measure their visual capacity by our own, we are doomed to 
disappointment, though we bring to our aid all the known 
resources of the science of optics. I lately read, some- 
where, that an English angler declared that the salmon took 
the fly under the delusion that it was a shrimp, because 
while said angler was beneath the surface of the water, the 
artificial flies on the surface appeared to him like shrimps. 
To have made some show of proving his statement he 
should have first demonstrated that salmon could be taken 
with shrimp bait as successfully, and in the same situations, 
as with the fly. 

The only way to experiment with profit, in this direction, 
is to experiment with the fish themselves, otherwise our ef- 
forts will be like the play of Hamlet with the melancholy 
Dane left out. The sense of sight in fishes is but little un- 
derstood, as is, indeed, the anatomy of their visual organs, 
which fact precludes all analogous reasoning from our own 
standpoint, alone. I have satisfied myself, however, that 



110 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

they see as well in their own element, perhaps better, than 
we in ours. 

That the color of the leader is not important is very evi- 
dent when wo reflect that the boy with line of wrapping 
cord, red, white, or blue, or the angler with line of twisted 
strands of black sewing-silk, to which the hook is affixed 
without leader or snell, is as successful in taking trout or 
Black Bass with bait, as others with lines of the most ap- 
proved colors. Sharks do not hesitate to take the bait even 
with the huge hook and chain and swivel accompaniment, 
nor do codfish, and other marine fishes, refuse the bait be- 
cause of the large hooks, wire snells, or coarse white lines : 
yet it is to be presumed that their discernment is as acute 
as that of a brook-trout. 

As to leaders and snells in fly-fishing, I do not think it 
makes any difference, practically, as to their color. The 
greatest desideratum, it seems to me, is to have them as 
fine as possible, consistent with the strength required, and 
this is not much with a flexible rod, for the amount of strain 
exerted by a fish on the rod and tackle is very much less 
than is popularly supposed. Though any color may answer, 
I prefer lines and leaders of neutral tints as being more in 
accordance with the eternal fitness of things, than for any 
other good reason, provided the staining does not weaken 
the gut ; and as this may possibly be the case, and as the 
stain or dye certainly can not add to its strength, it is best, 
I think, to use leaders and snells of unstained gut. I have 
used, with success, snells. and leaders of the finest silver 
suture wire, for trout and Black Bass, but, practically, they 
are not pliable enough, and are too heavy. 

On the whole, then, I think we shall have to be content 
with our leaders and snells as we find them to-day, simply 



SILK- WORM GUT. HI 

--■ 

selecting those that are the finest, roundest, and most per- 
fect, remembering, meanwhile, that a sight of the angler 
himself is more fatal to successful fishing than a display of 
the coarsest leader, or of the most outre in color. 

Leaders are now mostly made with loops for attaching 
the dropper flies, and is by far the most preferable way. An 
excellent mode of making the loop is as follows :— and if 
the reader will refer to Fig. 11, on page 278, and its ex- 
planation on page 281 (" The Book of the Black Bass"), 
the matter will be made much clearer — In forming the usual 
knot for tying the gut lengths together in making a leader, 
the two ends are lapped about two inches in forming that 
knot; but to make the loop, lap about four inches, and 
double one strand back on itself, so that there will be then 
three strands (instead of two), presented for tying, each 
about two inches long — two of the strands forming the loop ; 
now tie the knot in the manner as shown in the illustration 
referred to, and draw tight. This will leave two short ends 
on one side of the knot, and a loop on the other ; the former 
are to be clipped off short. This loop should point toward 
the reel end of the leader, or away from the stretcher fly, in 
order that the drop fly when attached may stand at a right 
angle to the leader, and thus prevent it becoming curled 
around it, when wet. 

A very good plan of making leaders is that used by some 
anglers, who tie the gut strands together in lengths of three 
feet, with loops at each end. Two of these lengths can be 
looped together for a six-foot leader, or three for one of 
nine feet. The flies can also be attached to these looped 
ends very easily. In this way a number of casts can be 
prepared, which may be used as found necessary. If the 
angler is using, say, a leader of six feet made in this way, 



1 12 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

with the stretcher and dropper flies attached to the end 
loops of the lower three-feet length, it will readily be seen 
how easy it would be to change the cast by simply 
" unlooping " the leader in the middle, and looping on 
another three-feet length — with flies already attached — 
as before. It will also be seen how easily a leader can 
be repaired in the same manner, by discarding the broken 
or frayed portion and replacing it w T ith another three-feet 
length. 

In testing the strength of leaders for Black Bass fishing, 
the angler should be very careful not to apply a force or 
weight of more than two or three pounds, which is really 
more than it will require in actual* fishing, and is all the 
strain a leader can be put to without injury. Silk-worm 
gut is always weakened when tested to the breaking point, 
or one of six or more pounds ; thus, a leader that breaks at 
eight pounds at the first trial, will not be likely to sustain 
more than six pounds at the next, and still less at the third 
trial. But if a low test is applied, as suggested, a good 
leader will last until worn out, in actual fishing. There is 
really no necessity for testing a first-class leader, for Black 
Bass or trout fishing, when bought from a reputable maker. 

Snells, or Snoods. 
Most Black Bass flies are now made with a short loop, 
or eye, of double gut, instead of being tied on snells of 
several inches in length. This is much the best way. 
They can be as easily looped on for stretchers, and by 
using separate snells looped at each end, they can be as 
readily attached for droppers. These separate snells should 
not be more than three or four inches long ; and when the 



i 






SILK-WORM GUT. 



113 



fly is tied directly to the snell, the latter should not exceed 
four inches in length— three inches is really long enough. 
Short snells or droppers will stand out better from the 
leader than longer ones, and they fit the modern fly-books 
much better. 

The " eye " or loop of the fly may be formed of the smallest 
sized wire gimp, instead of gut, as it is stronger, and can 
not become chafed or frayed. It will, however, increase 
the weight of the fly somewhat; but this will be no disad- 
vantage in fly-fishing tor Black Bass. 
10 



CHAPTER XIII. 
HOOKS. 

Recently the old " eyed " hook has been revived in Eng- 
land for artificial flies, but with this difference : the old- 
fashioned form had the eye either turned up, or vertical, 
that is, on the same plane with the shank, while the im- 
proved eye is turned down ; though some prefer it turned 
up, the turned down eye is deemed the best form. Through 
this eye the snell is passed and fastened by one of several 
knots or hitches, each of which has its advocates. 

But the Black Bass fisher need not worry his brain as to 
whether the eye should be turned up or down, nor fret his 
soul as to the particular knot or hitch by which to attach 
the snell ; for the plan of making the eye of gut or gimp 
in Bass flies is really to be preferred to any form of eyed 
hook, as the loop of the snell can be readily passed through 
the small gut loop at the head of the fly, and over the lat- 
ter, and then drawn tight, making a very neat and secure 
attachment — neater and more secure than by any form of 
eyed hook with knotted snell ; but the eye of the new hook 
is so small that, except in large sizes, a doubled gut can not 
be passed through it, consequently it must be fastened by 
a single gut w T ith some sort of knot. It is best suited for 
the very small hooks, on which the trout flies of England 
are usually tied, and for the very finely drawn, or gossa- 
mer gut, of which the snells are made. 

What with eyed hooks, brazed or unbrazed, turned up or 
(114) 



HOOKS. 115 

down ; May flies, dry flies and floating flies ; snaps, flights, 
gangs, traces and gags ; spinners, propellers, link-swivels, 
brake-winches and metal center gimp ; registered seat, lock- 
fast joints, beware of imitations, etc. ; it would seem that 
the boasted conservatism of the average Englishman weak- 
ens as soon as he takes to angling. I saw last year in Eng- 
land more " novelties, v and revivals of old and obsolete 
ideas, in new dresses, for the angler and fly-fisher, than 
were ever dreamed of in my American angling philosophy. 

During my visit, the British angling mind was much ex- 
ercised in regard to the re-numbering of fish hooks, started 
by an interested angler who had " invented " and patented 
or " registered " a new form of hook (with the turned down 
eye), and who wanted the Redditch manufacturers to depart 
from a uniform system of numbering hooks that had been 
established for nearly a century, and adopt the Kendal 
system. 

On this subject Mr. S. Allcock, the famous hook manu- 
facturer, says : 

"In Redditch we number from 1 to 20, the size becoming 
smaller the higher the number, in the same way that the wire is 
numbered. This is logical, for the finer the wire the more fre- 
quently must it be drawn through the plates to reduce it. The 
sizes larger than No. 1 we number 0, 00, 000, etc. This system 
has worked well for centuries. 

" Xow, however, a manufacturer employing a very few hands 
chooses to number his hooks backward, 20 being a large size and 
1 a smaller size ; those smaller than No. 1 he calls 0, 00, 000, 
etc. ; and Mr. Pennell has written a book in which he adopts this 
numbering ; but the only reason given for this new system is 
that ■ it is sufficiently elastic, allowing of extension either way.'" 



116 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

As the hooks that are most in vogue in the United States, 
as the Sproat, O'Shaughnessy, Carlisle, Aberdeen, Dublin- 
bend, and hollow-point Limerick, are all numbered accord- 
ing to the Redditch system, and agree very closely in all 
the sizes, it would be in the nature of a calamity to change 
it for the Kendal or any other system. 

Snellixg Hooks. 

It has been recommended, in tying gut snells to hooks, 
to heat the shank of the hook and coat it with rubber or 
other cement, or wax, and to soften the gut by soaking, or 
to crimp it by biting with the teeth or pinching it with 
pliers ; but let me caution the tyro, and advise him to do 
nothing of the kind. It destroys the temper of a hook to 
heat it, and burns off the protective coating; it breaks the 
fiber of the gut to bite or crimp it ; and when the gut is 
expanded by soaking and tied on, it shrinks upon drying, 
and leaves the wrapping loose. 

The best way to tie a gut snell to a hook is to use nothing 
but ay ell- waxed silk thread, and to wrap evenly and tightly. 
If properly done it will never pull off. Rubber cement 
loses its life after a time, becoming brittle, and rots the 
silk wrapping ; and so will all cements, sooner or later, from 
constant wetting and drying. At the best, if they do no 
good they may do harm, and it is folly to use them when 
they can better be dispensed with. 

In tying a hook to gut, use the best sewing-silk — the 
finest for very small hooks and coarser for larger ones ; use 
red shades as they seem to be stronger, and the color is 
suitable. The silk must be well-waxed, and there is nothing 
better for the purpose than the best light-colored shoemak- 



HOOKS. 117 

er's wax, which can be folded in a piece of soft leather to 
prevent soiling one's fingers. 

Some writers advise laying the gut on the back of 
the shank, but it is much better and more proper to 
place it on the front or inside of the shank. When it is 
on the back the direction of the traction and the strain is 
away from the end of the shank, and has a tendency to 
stretch or loosen the wrapping at that point; while with 
the gut in front of the shank this is obviated, as can be 
easily demonstrated, by placing the point of the hook against 
the ball of the thumb and making traction on the snell. 

Now, then, to ^ie a tapered hook to gut, proceed as fol- 
lows : First wax the silk well ; then take the hook between 
the thumb and forefinger of the left hand (if you are right- 
handed), with the end of the shank to the right, and the 
barb uppermost ; lay the gut along the inside of the shank 
for half its length, for small and medium-sized hooks, or 
one-third for large hooks ; and lay the silk alongside of 
'the gut, their two ends together ; and begin wrapping the 
silk (around the gut, shank and itself) at the end of the 
shank, and wrap firmly, evenly and closely down toward 
the bend of the hook, using as much strain in wrapping as 
the silk will bear, and continue the wrapping for a short 
distance, or six or eight turns, below the end of the gut. 
Begin the wrapping just below the end of the shank, leaving 
its tip bare, and finish the wrapping with the invisible knot. 

The invisible knot is formed in two ways : one by revers- 
ing the hook in the fingers of the left hand, so that the 
shank points to the left, and laying the silk along the shank 
with its end beyond the end of the shank, leaving a loop of 
the silk to continue the wrapping, around the shank, gut and 
silk, passing the loop over and around the bend of the hook 



118 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

at each turn, until four or five turns are made, and then 
drawing the silk back by its end, through the turns, draw- 
ing tightly, and clipping off the end closely. It is more 
easily done than described. 

Another way of making the invisible knot, or rather a 
different way of doing the same thing, is to lay a doubled 
thread of finer (unwaxed) silk along the wrapping, its loop 
being toward the bend of the hook, and include this doubled 
thread in the last four or five turns around the shank and 
gut, but not wrapping quite so firmly as before, and then 
pass the end of the wrapping silk through the loop, by 
means of which the wrapping thread is pulled back and out 
under these last turns, and after drawing snugly and tightly 
the end is to be closely clipped off. When the Avrapping is 
completed, it is to be well coated with shellac varnish by 
means of a camel's hair pencil. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 

There are flies and flies. Nearly every angler has his 
favorites, both in general and special flies. Very often the 
preference is purely fanciful, but it is a pardonable weak- 
ness, to which Ave are all more or less prone ; and then it 
can not do much harm, for I believe that, in most instances, 
we are more choice in the matter than the fish themselves. 
The facts are, that, when fish are rising freely, almost any 
fly will kill ; but when they are shy and diffident, it is only 
flies of certain colors, or combinations of colors, and skill- 
fully cast, that seem to induce a rise. Perhaps, after all, it 
is the manner of offering, rather than its peculiar features, 
that renders a particular fly more killing than others at cer- 
tain times. 

But that there are some flies that are more generally and 
uniformly killing, day in and day out, on various waters, is 
a fact proved by practical experience, and generally admit- 
ted by fly fishers. Among these are notably the Coachman, 
Grizzly King, Professor, Red Ibis and the several hackles 
or palmers. These were all originally trout flies, but they 
answer as good a purpose for the Black Bass when made of 
the proper size, which is nearly twice as large as the ordi- 
nary trout fly. 

We really do not know, exactly, what color or combina- 
tion of colors, or just what form or size, they prefer. Some- 
times they will take any thing made of feathers, tinsel, silk, 

(H9) 



120 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



or woo], or a Lit of rag, and of any known color ; at other 
times they will notice only certain colors or sizes, and at 
still other times they will rise to nothing in the semblance 
of an artificial fly. Then, again, a fly or flies that are kill- 
ing on some waters are comparatively useless on others. 

If we knew the " particular vanity " of the Black Bass 
in color or colors, or if he is color-blind, just what form or 
size is most tempting, we should have an easy task. Expe- 
rience and observation teach us, however, that the Black 
Bass, like most other game fishes, seems to have a penchant 
for red, yellow, brown and black, and at times gray and 
green, and many artificial flies embody one or more of these 
colors in their construction, and they are usually killing 
flies. 

Perhaps this can be better shown in the following table, 
where the 'predominating colors of body, wings and hackle 
are readily seen : 



NAME OF FLY. 


BODY. 


WINGS. 


HACKLE. 


Montreal... 

Polka 


Red. 

Red. 

Red. 

Red. 

Red. 

Yellow. 

Yellow. 

Yellow. 

Yellow. 

Yellow. 

Black. 

Green. 

Green. 

Herl. 

Herl. 

White. 

Gray. 


Brown. 

G ray. 

Grav. 

Gray. 

Red. 

Black. 

Brown. 

Gray. 

Gray. 

Brown. 

Yellow. 

Gray. 

Brown. 

White. 

G ray. 

White. 

Gray. 


Red. 
Ked. 




Red. 


Abbey 

Red Ibis 


Red. 
Red. 


Lord Baltimore 

Oconomowoc 

Queen of the Water 


Black. 
Dun. 
Red. 
Brown. 




Green. 


Oriole 


Black. 


Grizzly Kinf 


Gray. 
R d. 






Brown. 




White. 


"White Miller 


White. 


Gray Drake 


White. 



ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 121 

The above list embraces all of the flies that I use in 
Black Bass fishing, except the red, black, brown, gray, and 
yellow hackles. The last four in the table are especially 
useful on dark days, or toward evening. 

Most of the flies in the above table are general favorites, 
and in my own hands have all proved very killing. I 
merely mention them, to the exclusion of others, as a gen- 
eral guide, for each angler will soon adopt a few flies for 
his own fishing, none of which may have been mentioned 
above, but he will nevertheless continue to use them, and 
swear by them on all occasions; and this is one of the glo- 
rious privileges of the art of angling. 

As a father naturally thinks his own children the best, 
smartest, and handsomest, I may be pardoned for placing 
in the above list — and strongly recommending as general 
flies — my Polka, Oriole, Oconomowoc, and Henshall, leaving 
to others the praise or condemnation due them. The for- 
mulae for their construction are as follows : 

Polka. — Body, scarlet, with gold twist ; hackle, red ; 
wings, black with white spots (guinea fowl) ; tail, brown 
and white, mixed. 

Oriole. —Body, black, with gold tinsel ; hackle, black ; 
wings, orange or yellow ; tail, black and yellow, mixed. 

Oconomowoc. — Body, creamy-yellow T ; hackle, white and 
dun (hairs from deer's tail) ; tail, ginger ; wings, cinnamon 
(woodcock). 

Henshall. — Body, peacock herl ; hackle, white hairs from 
deer's tail ; wings, gray (dove) ; tail, two fibers (green) 
from peacock's tail-feather. 

The Lord Baltimore fly originated w T ith Prof. Alfred M. 
Mayer, of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, 
New Jersey. Its formula is as follows : 
11 



122 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

Lord Baltimore. — Body, orange ; hackle, tail and wings, 
black, with small upper wings of jungle-cock. 

Professor" Mayer and I, being natives of Baltimore, and 
knowing that black and yellow formed a good and taking 
combination in an artificial fly, each designed, unknown to 
the other, a fly to embody these colors ; and as they are 
the heraldic colors of the State of Maryland, and were the 
heraldic colors of Lord Baltimore, Professor Mayer aptly 
named his trout fly, "Lord Baltimore;" while I designated 
my Black Bass fly, the " Oriole,'' from the Baltimore oriole, 
or hanging bird, which beautiful songster was named in 
honor of Lord Baltimore, as its colors were the same as his 
own — black and orange. 

I have been experimenting with a fly, of my own design- 
ing, for several seasons, that is as yet a puzzle to me. 
Sometimes it is the most killing fly I ever cast, the Bass 
rising to it madly when they would notice no other fly ; but 
on other occasions it is not at all successful, the Bass re- 
fusing it altogether, always taking the other fly in the cast. 
I have not yet determined the most suitable conditions and 
occasions for using it, though I am inclined to think it best 
on cloudy days. It is constructed entirely of metallic 
colors, and I give its formula in order that any one feeling 
an interest in it may try it : 

Golden Dustman. — Body, bronze (peacock herl) ; hackle, 
golden yellow ; wings, bronze (wild turkey) ; tail, fibers 
from the crest of golden pheasant. 

Abbey & Imbrie have patented and manufacture what 
they call the " Fluttering Fly." It is made in the same 
patterns and in the same manner as the conventional fly, 
except that the hook is reversed ; that is, the tail of the fly 
is at the end of the shank, while the head is near the bend 



ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 



123 




Patent Fluttering Fly. 
(Abbey & Imbrie.) 

of the hook, or opposite to the point, A glance at the 
above illustration will explain this better than any descrip- 
tion. 

It will readily be seen that when this fly is drawn through 
the water, the wings and hackle, instead of closing, as in 
the ordinary fly, expand— which, it is claimed, gives it a 
fluttering, lifelike motion, similar to that of a struggling, 
half-drowned insect. The barb being near the head of the 
fly, it is further claimed, is more likely to fasten the fish, 
as 'it is almost sure to be hooked if it touches the fly. 

I have used these flies, and like them very much, though 
I have not had experience enough with them to determine 
whether they are better, under any or all circumstances, 
than the ordinary fly. They are well worthy of a trial, and 
every progressive fly-fisher should add a few of his favorite 
flies, tied in this manner, to his fly-book. 



124 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




Hammered Spoon Bait. 
(Abbey & Imbrie.) 



Hammered Spoon Bait. 
(Thos. J. Conroy.) 



CHAPTER XV. 
ARTIFICIAL BAITS. 

Probably in no direction has there been more ingenuity 
displayed than in the production of artificial baits, such as 
trolling spoons, spinners, propellers and artificial minnows, 
frogs, crustacea, insects and nondescripts. 

In trolling spoons the changes that have been rung upon 
the original oval metal spoon, with a single hook, have been, 
to say the least, remarkable ; and it is, indeed, surprising 
to see the number of forms that have been evolved from 
that simple implement. Every conceivable shape into 
which the old spoon could be cut, bent or twisted, and still 
have it revolve, has been resorted to ; and it has been fluted, 
hammered and corrugated ; and grooved, ribbed and perfo- 
rated ; embossed, painted and nickel-plated ; and doubled 
and trebled, and made to spin around floats and balls and 
metal minnows and flies, until the brain begins to whirl, 
and the eyes become dazed in their contemplation. .Some 
are fearfully and wonderfully made, and are the most cruel 
and murderous-looking instruments of torture ever devised 
for the use of the followers of the meek and gentle Walton. 

The trolling spoon has its legitimate uses, when it is 
properly made and judiciously employed. There are situ- 
ations where the small revolving spoon with a single hook 
can be cast with a light rod and still remain within the pale 
of legitimate angling ; but there is never any excuse for 

using more than a single hook. 

(125) 



126 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

Why do manufacturers persist in affixing the triple hook, 
or triangle, to trolling spoons, when a single hook is so 
much more efficient, preferable and humane ? All triangles, 
double hooks and gangs are English abominations invented 
or devised by the devil, or his children, the pot-fishers, for 
pike fishing. There is nothing so effective as the single 
hook for any kind of fishing. The fish is more certain of 
being hooked, more certain of being landed, and if he breaks 
away does not have his mouth so torn and lacerated as by 
the villainous triple hook or gang. I have found dead Bass 
with the entire premaxillary bone (upper lip and jaw) torn 
off by these murderous implements. I never see or hear 
of an angler using or recommending a gang of three or 
more hooks for trolling the live minnow without setting him 
down as a pot-fisher ; and all humane and genuine anglers 
— those who love fair play and use light and elegant tackle, 
should deprecate and discourage the cruel practice. 

Trolling Spoons. 
One of the most effective improvements in spoon-baits is 
the so-called " hammered " spoon. It is simply the old 
oval spoon with the convex surface " hammered " or pressed 
into polygonal depressions and ridges, presenting numerous 
facets for the play and sparkle of the light and sunshine 
when revolving. As made by Conroy, and Abbey & Imbrie, 
and Spalding Brothers, they can not be surpassed ; and if 
a single hook was attached instead of the triple hook or 
triangle, we could use them with a clear conscience. The 
Spaldings make their spoon with a lower section hammered 
and plain above. I have used the smallest size, No. 1, hav- 
ing the hammered section nickled and the plain section gilt, 



ARTIFICIAL BAITS. 



127 



with a single hook, on a fly-rod, in swift, tumbling waters, 
with good effect. 

There is nothing in this line more beautiful than the 
pearl spoon; and it will always be a "spoon," for being 
made of shell it can never be bent or twisted into the fan- 
ciful forms of some of the metal ones. It is very effective 
as a lure, and the smallest sizes are well adapted for the 
fly-rod in broken waters. 




Adjustable Fly-Spoon. 
(Wm. Mills &Son.) 

One of the neatest things in the way of a revolving bait 
is the adjustable fly-spoon of Wm. Mills & Son. This small 
spoon can be readily adjusted to a snelled hook or an arti- 
ficial fly, and will be found very suitable for the white water 
of riffles and rapids. 

Artificial Minnows. 
Mr. Imbrie sent me for trial a soft and flexible artificial 
minnow of the style known as the " phantom," which he 
calls the " Capelin " phantom. After divesting it of the 
several triangles of hooks which are always attached to arti- 
ficial minnows, and re-investing it with a single small hook, 
I used it with remarkably good success in the rough w T ater 
under mill-dams. It is a very durable bait and is made in 



128 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

a first-class manner, and when spinning in swift water pre- 
sents a very life-like appearance, being bright and silvery 
in color. J 

Artificial Baits. 




Improved Artificial Mouse.-Fur Body. 
( I hos. J. Conroy.) 

The above is a very life-like imitation of a mouse and is 
well calculated to deceive. It is well known that very large 
trout and Black Bass have been caught with a live mouse 
as bait, and it remains to be seen whether the imitation will 
be as successful. 

_ Three years ago I was trout-fishing on Slate river, the 
inlet of Gogebic lake, and was returning down stream, 
homeward bound on account of a heavy rain. I sat in the 
bow of the boat casting under the banks on either hand as 
my boatman paddled noiselessly . along. On reaching a 
wider portion of the stream I observed a field-mouse swim- 
ming across, and when it reached the center of the pool a 
fine trout rose for it, but as he did so, saw me, turned tail 
and disappeared. Upon my arrival at the hotel I imparted 
what I had seen to a friend who was very anxious to kill a 
large trout, and who next day repaired to the spot and suc- 
ceeded ,n taking it; it weighed fully one and a half pounds 
and was a good fish for that stream. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

NATURAL BAITS. 

THERE is not much to be added to the Chapter on Na- 
tural Baits. There have been some changes in the scien- 
tific nomenclature of the cyprinoid fishes, or minnows men- 
tioned on page 318 of "The Book of the Black Bass 
owing to a better understanding of the ichthyology of North 

America. ^ . , 

The common shiner is now known as Notropu megalops; 
the creek chub as SemotUus atromaeulatus ; and the horned, 
or river chub as Hybopm kentuckiemis. To these may he 
added the steel-backed minnow, Campostoma anomalum 
which is a very common minnow, brassy in coloration, and 
much mottled with dark blotches; it has thick, tough lips, 
almost sncker-like, and is a favorite bait on Kentucky and 

Ohio streams. . , c 

There are a dozen or more species of minnows used lor 
bait, in Black Bass fishing, and which are indiscriminate y 
called by anglers "chubs" and » shiners ;" but it would 
only cause confusion to allude to their scientific names. 



130 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




Conroy's Improved Fly-Book. 
(Thos. J. Conroy, 65 Fulton St., N. Y.) 



CHAPTER XVII. 

MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 

The list of miscellaneous implements is constantly being 
added to, to meet the wants or requirements of anglers. 
It is not only interesting, but surprising, upon looking over 
the catalogues of our large dealers, to observe the improve- 
ments and inventions that are being made, each season, in 
this department. Every thing that can be devised or 
thought of to increase the angler's pleasure or comfort is 
put into practical shape. 

Fly-Books. 
Every manufacturer has patented at least one fly-book, 
and some of them, two or three; and where there is so 
much competition there is sure to be production of good 
articles It is really hard to choose between those now 
ma de, and the choice must be left entirely to the angler s 
taste or fancy as to the different methods of securing the 
flies and also as to details of construction and finish. 

The "Bray" patent fly-book, manufactured by Spalding 
Brothers, is a very strong and substantial leather book 
The fly-leaves are made of stiff waterproof board with 
metallic surfaces, at one or both ends of which is riveted 
a strong nickel frame, scalloped to accommodate a dozen flies 
The snells are stretched and secured by means of wo long 
and closely-coiled spiral springs, placed completely ( across 
the page, at equal distances apart, which are fasten d to the 



132 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




M > 



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ft 8 




+3 W 



F4 h 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 133 

page by strong, flat nickel bars running through them and 
riveted to the page at the edges. These bars and the fly- 
frames are placed opposite to each other on the two sides 
of the leaf, and the ends are firmly riveted to each other 
through the leaf. The snells are very readily attached or 
detached, regardless of their length, and held straight. 
Between the fly-leaves are leather leaves faced with flannel, 
to absorb the moisture from wet flies. A large pocket is 
placed at one part of the book for leaders, and the whole is 
securelv closed by a neat spring catch. 

Thos" J. Conroy's "Improved" patent fly-book has 
double parchment leaves, with metal frame, firmly stitched 
together with silk. At each end are strong double nickel 
racks, riveted through to those on the reverse side of the 
leaf in a very secure manner. One bar of the double rack 
is fitted with flat metal hooks, and the other with neat spiral 
springs terminating also in hooks. The fly is affixed to 
the hooked end of the spiral spring at one end of the fly- 
leaf and the loop of the snell is attached to the flat hook 
of the rack at the opposite end of the leaf, stretching the 
snell to its full extent, and, of course, keeping it perfectly 
straight The racks, with their hooks and springs, are very 
substantially made, and hold a dozen flies to a page be- 
tween which are extra parchment leaves. The cover of he 
book is made entirely of leather, with a large leather pocket 
at each end of the book, and a parchment pocket for lead- 
ers The whole is secured by a very neat and strong clasp 
A B Shipley & Son's patent fly-book is neatly made o 
leather with pockets at either end for leaders and snelled 
hooks, or short-looped flies, and is closed by a strong spring 
clasp The fly-leaves are made of double parchment, or ot 
celluloid, neatly stitched and bound on the edges. They 



134 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF 



THE BLACK BASS. 




The "Levison" Fly-Book. 

(Wm. Mills & Son, 7 Warren St., N. Y.) 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 



135 




Patent Celluloid Fly-Book. 

(A. B. Shipley & Son.) 

have metal clips at each end for attaching the fly-hook, with 
two rows of spring clasps between for secunng the sue 11 
keeping it straight without regard to its length These 
clips and clasps do not increase the hulk of the book nor 
add much to its weight, while the flies are placed in position 
and removed very readily. 

Mr Thos H. Chubb has patented and manufactures two 
styles' of fly-book, both of which subserve the same pur- 
poses, though in a somewhat different manner One has 
Sloped nfckel frames at the two. ends of the fly-lea for 
affixing the flies, and two nickel bars at equal distances be- 
tween, on which are placed short spiral sprmgs for secunng 
Lsnells, irrespective of their length The other has cor- 
rupted nickel frames at the ends for the adjustment of the 
«i with two nickel bars between, which have, instead 
of piral springs, flat spring clasps for secunng snells 



136 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK 



BASS. 




Patent Clip(Open) 

The "Southside" Fly-Book. 

(Abbey & Imbrie, 18 Vesey St., N. Y.) 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 137 

of any length. The frames and bars are placed opposite to 
each other on the two sides of the leaf and riveted firmly 
together. The spiral spring page holds a dozen, and the 
fla°t spring page two dozen flies. Between the fly-leaves 
are leaves of leather and absorbent material. The books 
are strongly and neatly made of leather, and have pockets 
for leaders and snelled hooks, and are closed by durable 

spring catches. . „ . 

Wm. Mills & Son's patent fly-book, the "Levison, is 
made of fine leather in the usual style, with pockets and 
metal clasp, in a first-class and durable manner throughout 
The flies are adjusted by means of slotted hooks at one end 
and neat spiral springs at the other. By means of the 
slotted hook, snells with a knot, instead of a loop, can be 
as readily attached as the looped snell. The snells are kept 
perfectly straight and at full length by this method, and 
any fly can be removed without disturbing the others, ihe 
pa.es are arranged for both Black Bass and trout flies. 

Abbie & Imbrie's patent clip fly-book is substantially 
made in several different sizes and styles, with leader 
pockets and felt leaves for absorbing moisture from wet 
flies The flies and snells are attached at full length by the 
patent clips at the top and bottom of the pages, and very 
short snells are secnred by parchment bands. The leaves 
are formed of double parchment neatly stitched along the 
edges In addition to leader pockets, there are smaller 
ones for short-looped flies. The books are made entirely 
of leather and parchment, with an improved form of clasp 
Mr Imbrie also makes the "Endicott" book, on the spiral 
spring and patent clip principle, in addition to other styles 
of fly-books. 
12 



138 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




Hook and Tackle Book. 

|(Wm. Mills & Son.) 



Tackle-Books. 
There is nothing handier than a good tackle-book. I 
have been shown one by Mills & Son which is made of 
leather, in the bellows or accordeon style, so that, like an 
omnibus, it is never full. It has half a dozen large pockets 
for leaders or snelled hooks, extra lines, wrapping silk, etc.; 
and each large pocket has a supplementary small one, which 
can be utilized for short-looped flies, loose hooks, sinkers, 
swivels, etc. Where looped leaders, double-looped snells 
and short-looped flies, or eyed-hook flies are used, it is just 
the article for holding them. It is firmly closed by a long 
leather strap and flat loops. 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 139 



Leader-Box. 

(Wm. Mills & Son.) 



Leader-Boxes. 
Before using leaders it is of course necessary to straighten 
them by soaking in water, or by the more tedious process 
of rubbing with gutta-percha. This often causes vexatious 
delay to the impatient angler, but it can be entirely obvi- 
ated by the use of a leader-box. Almost any kind of a flat, 
round metal box will answer the purpose. I bought one in 
England, and a very nice one, with a small box in the cen- 
ter°of the large one for eyed-hook flies, but it is too krge 
to go into any pocket, unless one especially made for it. 
Another one that I procured from Mills & Son is just the 
thing. It will go into an ordinary pocket; has rounded 
confers, and being nickel-plated will not rust or tarnish. 
It is fitted with two pieces of thick felt, which, being damp- 
ened, enclose the leaders, which are thus always ready for 
use. Its cost is only fifty cents. Its size 3i by 4| inches. 



140 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. 

Patent Landing-Net Frames. 

No. 1. Chas. F. Orvis, Manchester, Yt. 

No. 2. Wm. Mills & Son, 7 Warren St., N. Y. 

No. 3. Thos. J. Conroy, 65 Fulton St., N. Y. 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 141 

Landing-Nets. 

There is no reason why the angler can not now be suited 
in landing-nets, for they are made in every style, from the 
simple wooden-bowed net to the more elaborate and port- 
able net-frames of whalebone, steel and brass. 

Mr. C. F. Orvis makes a very useful and meritorious net- 
frame, combining two handles, a long one and a short one, 
of bamboo, which are joined by a strong ferrule. The 
short handle is used in wading the stream and has a ring at 
the end for attaching a loop by which it can be fastened to 
a button on the coat or creel-strap. The long handle is 
for fishing from a boat or the bank. The rim of the net is 
a piece of flat steel, nickel-plated, and is readily attached 
to or detached from the handle ; when not in use it is in- 
serted into the long handle, w T hich has a screw-cap at the 
end. 

Wm. Mills & Son have patented the " Dorsal Fin " net- 
ring and handle, which is a very compact and convenient 
tool. The net-ring is made of flexible metal, brass or 
nickel-plated, which, when released from its socket at the 
end of the handle, can be straightened and inserted into 
the hollow bamboo handle. The net can be carried in the 
creel or the pocket. 

The " Bailey " patent landing-net frame, sold by Thos. 
J. Conroy, is another example of the principle of carrying 
the net-ring in a hollow bamboo handle, and a glance at the 
illustration will show the method of attaching the ring to 
the handle. The ends of the spring-brass ring (A) have 
holes (a a) in them which are passed through slots in the 
ring holder and over the pins (b b), when the natural spring 
of the metal holds every thing firmly and securely. 



142 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 





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■ 51 




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W) J 



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o ■— 
O 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 143 

DlSGORGERS AND EXTRACTORS. 

Very often a Bass, or it may be a pike, pickerel, or wall- 
eye, is hooked in the throat or gullet, and it is difficult to 
dislodge the hook. In order to render this easy to do, and 
at the same time to prevent the fingers of the angler from 
being scratched or lacerated by the teeth of the fish, a dis- 
gorger becomes a very useful tool. There are a number of 
ingeniously devised implements for the purpose. 

One of the best is Foard's patent fish-hook extractor or 
disgorger, sold by Thos. J. Conroy. The directions for its 
employment are to use the end of the instrument corre- 
sponding to the size of the hook, draw the line taut, and 
run the instrument down into the bend of the hook ; then 
clasp the line against the side of the shaft, and push the 
whole down till the barb is disengaged, and the hook will 
come out with the instrument. 

Another tool for this purpose is sold by A. B. Shipley & 
Son. It has a V-shaped knife at one extremity for dis- 
lodging the hook, the other being a screw-driver, while the 
shank of the instrument is a file. It is a very useful, con- 
venient and portable combination. The file is useful for 
touching up the point of the hook, while the screw-driver 
may be required for taking apart a refractory reel. 

Wm. Mills & Son have a disgorger with a long and stiff 
wire handle, the knife being a slotted tube, for admitting 
the snell, with the end of the tube ground to a sharp, cut- 
ting edge. 

There are a number of other forms in the market, but 
these are among the best. 



144 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 




". vvJ f ' : 
;.:■:»•.■'.-.; 







(A. B. Shipley & Son.) 





(Wm. Mills & Son.) 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 



145 



Minnow-Buckets. 

The "Acme " minnow-bucket, of Wm. Mills & Son, is 
substantially made of heavy tin and handsomely japanned. 
The inside pail of perforated tin can be removed and placed 
in the water, thus keeping the bait alive for an indefinite 
time ; it can be raised or lowered to allow the selection of 
a bait without wetting the hand. The continuous flowing 
of the water through the perforations, during transportation, 
has a tendency to aerate the water and keep the bait alive. 

A. B. Shipley & Son's double minnow-bucket is strongly 
and durably made and handsomely japanned and orna- 
mented. The inner pail is made of perforated tin, with 
plenty of space between it and the outer pail for a free cir- 
culation of the water. It has all the well-known advan- 
tages of the double pail. 




Rudolph's Patent Floating Minnow- Bucket. 

(A. G Spalding & Bros.) 



Rudolph's floating minnow- pail, sold by A. G. Spalding 
13 



146 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

Bros is one of the best articles in this line. The inside 
pail is made of strong galvanized wire-cloth, and has an air 
chamber secured to the inside of the lid, hy means of which 
it will float at the surface of the water ; and when fishing 
from a boat it can be made fast by a string, and the use of 
the outside pail can be dispensed with. 





Rudolph's Patent Floating Minnow-Pooket. 
(A. G. Spalding & Bros.) 

The floating principle is also applied to a netted pocket, 
or minnow-bag, which is well adapted to the use of the 
angler when fishing a stream by wading. Or where there 
are two anglers in the same boat, each can have his minnow 
pocket at his own end of the boat, a convenience that will 
be appreciated by the social angler, who always wants a 
companion or two in his boat. The cuts show the minnow 
pocket ready for use, and folded. 

Angler's Pliers. 
A very useful little implement is shown below, combin- 
ing six different tools in one, namely : A, strong round- 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 147 




Angler's Pliers. 
(Thos. J. Conroy.) 

nosed pliers ; B, knife for splitting shot ; C, fine wire cut- 
ter; J), strong wire cutter; U, screw-driver; F, reamer. 
They weigh only four ounces, and are made of the best steel 
and in the best manner, and will be found thoroughly reli- 
able. The cut is one half the size of the pliers. With this 
tool, a bit of string and a piece of wire, a broken rod or a 
disabled reel may be quickly remedied or repaired. It 
should be carried in every angler's pocket. 

Rod Holder. 
This device is intended for trolling or still fishing, and 
enables the angler to dispense with the services of a boat- 
man. It can be fastened to either the gunwale, as in Fig. 
2; or to a seat, as in Fig. 1. By means of the thumb- 
screw it can be adjusted to any angle or direction, as it 
works on a ball-and-socket joint. While the rod is held 
perfectly secure, it can be taken out or replaced in a mo- 
ment, whether the reel is below or above the grip. The 
crotches for the rod are covered with soft rubber, so that 
there is no more liability of scratching or bruising it than 



148 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 





Universal Rod Holder. 
(A. G. Spalding & Bros.) 

if held in the hand. It is made of malleable iron, neatly 
tinned, and is well adapted for the purposes of its con- 
struction. 

Wading-Shoes. 

A good wading-shoe is a great desideratum for the stream 
fisher. While leather brogans are very comfortable, and 
answer the purpose admirably, it is necessary to take the 
best care of them in order that they may be kept soft and 
pliable ; a liberal application of castor oil, while wet, is the 
best plan for accomplishing this result. Very few anglers, 
however, attend to this matter as they should, and are very 
loth to give the needed attention to leather wading-shoes 
when through fishing ; consequently, when next needed 
they are as hard and stiff as a board. 

Conroy's Improved Wading-Shoes will be found to satisfy 
the average angler better than leather shoes. They are 
strongly made of heavy canvas, dry quickly, and do not 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 



149 




Improved Canvas Wading-Shoes. 

(Thos. J. Conroy.) 



harden with drying. They are supplied with soft hob-nails 
to prevent slipping on rocks, and may be worn with or 
without wading stockings. 



Fishing-Boats. 

In Black Bass fishing on lakes, ponds, and broad deep 
rivers, a boat is a sine qua non, and a part of the angler's 
outfit that should receive that attention which its impor- 
tance demands. A good boat in every particular is a 
blessing and a comfort that can hardly be overestimated. 

As a rule, anglers, while employing none but the best 
tools and tackle, do not give the same thought and care to 
the boats they use. They are inclined to accept any thing 
in the shape of a boat that will float, and seem to have an 
idea that all boats are cranky and leaky, from the calm 
indifference with which they will sit for a day with wet 



IrO SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BA8S ? 



pq « 

bSS =S 

.2 | 



■83 

M O 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 151 

feet, or the philosophic unconcern with which they will 
spend half their time in bailing out the water. 

In the first place, a boat for fishing should be safe and 
light, dry, and capable of being easily rowed or paddled ; 
and, in order to meet these requirements, considerable at- 
tention should be given to its model and construction. It 
should not be too long, and should have beam enough to 
give stability, but not so much as to render it logy. 

Of late years great attention has been given by builders 
to the construction of suitable small boats, for the angler 
and sportsman, at a moderate price, so that there is now no 
excuse for the employment of such death-traps as leaky 
scows and cranky, unsafe skiffs. 

I am aware that most anglers, who use boats, depend on 
hiring them at the usual fishing resorts ; but that is no ex- 
cuse, for the amount usually paid for boat hire during a 
fishing vacation would be more than ample for the purchase 
and freight charges of a good, safe, dry and comfortable 
boat. 

"Eureka" Fishing-Boat. 

R. J. Douglas & Co., of Waukegan, Illinois, who build 
any thing from a steam-launch or a sloop-yacht to a ten- 
pound canoe, have given much thought and attention to the 
building of fishing-boats at a moderate price, and have suc- 
ceeded in producing a very low-priced, yet well-modeled and 
desirable boat, one that an angler can afford to own who 
can spend but a few clays in the year fishing. 

They are enabled to do this by building this style of boat 
in large numbers, and in employing on them the same work- 
men the year round. They have them on hand, always, so 
that they can be ordered by telegraph, and the angler can 



152 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 








MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 153 

be supplied with a good boat, almost anywhere, within a few 
days after ordering. 

This style of boat they call "Eureka," and is made with 
either square or sharp stern, the former being the stiffest 
and best for angling. They are made in two sizes : 13 ft. x 
36 in., or 15 ft. x 38 in., and 10 or 12 inches deep, and 
weigh about 100 and 110 pounds. They are built of bass- 
wood, pine, or white cedar, at twenty, twenty-five or thirty 
dollars. I have used a number of boats and canoes built 
by R. J. Douglas & Co., and can safely recommend their 
work, and particularly the " Eureka," for anglers. It is 
built as follows : 

Instead of keel, it has a ten-inch bottom board, | inch 
thick, which makes it perfectly flat on bottom, and it has 
five strakes on a side. The frames, stems and wales are of 
selected white oak, in all grades, and in basswood boats the 
bottom and first two strakes are of pine or cedar, and only 
the three upper strakes of basswood. The planking is f 
inch thick in clinkers, and J inch in carvel boats. The row- 
locks are of their own design and the sockets are fastened 
on with bolts so that they can not pull off. Instead of 
wood knees, they use a malleable iron brace from wales to 
seat, which is also fastened on with stove-bolts. The boat 
is fitted with a good pair of ash oars and malleable iron 
rowlocks, is seated for three persons, and has three coats 
of paint on it. It makes a fine-looking, steady, strong and 
very serviceable boat for nearly all uses. 

Osgood's Portable Canvas Boat. 
If the angler wishes a portable boat, one that he can take 
in his buggy and drive to his favorite water near home, or 
pack in its box and ship by rail to any part of the country, 



154 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



there is none that is so well known and so highly spoken of 
by sportsmen generally as Osgood's Portable Folding Can- 
vas Boat; and it deserves all the praise bestowed upon it. 
It is as light as a birch-bark canoe, but stronger ; it will 
live in a sea where an ordinary wooden skiff would be 
swamped. It has been in use for many years, and has with- 
stood the severest tests ; many improvements have been 
added since it was first introduced. Mr. Osgood says : 

"As now made, it is as near perfect as it is possible .to manu- 
facture it. The canvas is drawn smooth, and all the fittings 
work easily. It has a perfectly modeled flat bottom, which 
makes it very steady and staunch, and entirely free from the roll 
of other boats of the same size. No danger of its tipping over. 
Any lady can row it, for it does not require one-half the strength 
to handle that a wooden boat does. It can be made ready for 
the water in five minutes, and no tools or ingenuity are required 
to set it up." 



Fig- 3. 




The above is a view of the boat in its compact or port- 
able form, showing boat folded, bottom-board, camp-stools, 
gunwale, stretcher and packing-chest ; oars and paddles are 
jointed, and pack in chest with boat. 

The materials used in its construction are first class 
throughout. It is made in several sizes from 8 ft. x 33 



MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS. 155 

inches, to 15 ft. x 36 inches, and weighs from twenty to 
seventy-five pounds, according to size, and the way it is 
fitted up. The best size for angling, for two persons, is 12 
ft. x 33 inches, weighing with every thing complete fifty 
pounds. The price varies from thirty to fifty dollars, ac- 
cording to size. 



PART III. 



ANGLING AND FLY-FISHING. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANGLING. 

The art of angling, with the improvements and appli- 
ances thereunto pertaining, will not suffer by a comparison 
with the progress of any other out-door recreation. The 
love of angling increases with the lapse of years, for its 
love grows by what it feeds on. 

Wiser and more healthful and more humane sentiments 
now prevail among the guild than formerly, so that its prac- 
tice more nearly approaches and deserves its appellation of 
the " gentle art." 

Fishing for count, and the slaughter of the innocents, and 
the torturing of the fish, when caught, by a lingering death, 
now meet with the opprobrium of all true disciples of the 
craft, and have become abhorrent and despicable practices. 

The genuine angler " loves " angling for its own sake ; 
the pot-fisher " likes " fishing for the spoils it brings, 
whether captured by the hook, spear or seine. 

The angler wending his way by the silvery stream, or 
resting upon its grassy banks, has an innate love for all his 
surroundings — the trees, the birds, the flowers — which be- 
come part and parcel of his pursuit ; become true and tried 
friends and allies without whom he could no more love his 
art, nor practice it, than the astronomer could view the 
heavens with pleasure on a cloudy, starless night. 

It is the love of the stream in its turnings and windings, 
its depths and its shallows, its overhanging branches and 

(159) 



160 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

grassy slopes, that gives to the art of angling its chiefest 
charm, and presents the Bass or the trout to the angler in 
its true and proper setting of leaves and flowers and spark- 
ling water. If it were otherwise he would find as much 
pleasure in fishing in the flume of the fish-culturist, or in 
viewing the fish in the fish-monger's stall. 

Truly, the stream and its surroundings are all in all to 
the angler. I am not much given to preaching, though I 
come of a race of preachers ; but I can not refrain from 
presenting to the reader the following eloquent similitude 
and beautiful comparison between the angler's stream and 
the stream of Life; showing the easy and natural transi- 
tion from the love of angling to the love of nature and nat- 
ure's God. I feel more like presenting it because it is an 
extract from a sermon of one (Rev. Dr. H.) who has both 
the love of God and the love of angling deeply engrafted in 
his heart : 

"Act, therefore, while the day calls. Live its life as if life 
were complete in it. Not that it contains all varieties of expe- 
rience, but so joins the days before and after as to make them 
one stream, which your spirit should wade cheerily as the trout 
fisher wades his brook. 

" His brook is wild, because the trout love waters where boats 
can not follow them, nor even lumber logs roll free ; waters that 
twist and plunge, and shoot and eddy, with many a snag in the 
midst and fallen tree across. 

"And there the fisher seeks them by an instinct like their own 
— loving the bends that lock the pools, the shoals that embank 
the deep, the concealment of trackless woods, with their twilight 
noons and mystic noises, and every difficulty that teases him to 
more eager quest of his water-sprites. 

" When no upward flash meets his fly he reels his line in ex- 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANGLING. 161 

pectation to give a merrier hum to the next throw, and again to 
the next, until all expectations are fulfilled at once when his 
wrist tingles to the trout's jerk and swirl and jump. 

"And still that wrist tingles through casts that take no prize, 
until another capture renews its thrill. Broken leaders, snarled 
lines, torn garments, bruised limbs, do not spoil his hilarity, 
which feels the whole day's sport in every minute, the whole 
brook's beauty at every step. 

"And so with life. It is to be lived as a whole. Happiness 
comes from an energetic sense of its entire significance in every 
passing phase of it — in mystery, as giving value to knowledge — 
in failure, as the guage of success — in evil, as the condition of 
good, which indeed is but evil overcome, and without the evil 
could not be — and in all alike as strides and casts of the confi- 
dent soul, whose trout-stream from end to end is God. 

"And if by these the soul gains nought else, it gains immortal 
health ; fills its creel with secrets of infinite love and wisdom — 
wisdom too loving to wish less than man's perfection — love too 
wise to spare any pain necessary to attain Godlike end. Luck 
enough for time or eternity. Nay, eternal sport in time." 
14 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CONDITIONS WHICH GOVERN THE BITING 
OF FISH. 

After a careful reading of this chapter it would seem 
that there was nothing to add to this very uncertain sub- 
ject; for we really know very little about it. We only 
know that when fishing a favorable locality where there are 
"thousands" of Black Bass, or even in small, circumscribed 
waters where there are certainly "hundreds," we do well, 
by the most careful fishing, to secure a half-dozen or a score 
of fish, as the case may be, on the most propitious occa- 
sions. 

Why is it then that so few, out of so many, respond to 
the angler's fly or bait? It is best that it is so; but why 
is it so ? This is the query that naturally rises to the ang- 
ler's mind, especially after an unsuccessful day. 

I might answer this question by asking another : Why is 
it that the sportsman in a day's outing, with the best dogs, 
finds so few grouse or quail in comparison to the great 
numbers known to " use " in certain localities ? 

The inference is plain in either case, for self preservation 
is the first law of nature ; but while the sportsman is fully 
conscious of this, the angler is usually not so logical, be- 
cause he does not reflect upon the fact that the fish is as 
fully aware of his presence as the grouse or quail is of that 
of the sportsman and his dogs. 

Then again we should not expect to find all the fish on 
(162) 



CONDITIONS WHICH GOVERN THE BITING OF FISH. 163 

the feed at the same time : if we did so we would have no 
cause to complain of their not rising or biting. In the 
struggle for existence among animals, including fishes, it is 
the majority that obtains enough to satisfy its wants, and 
the minority only that does not. Then it is from the minor- 
ity that we must look for the few that are likely to see and 
take our lure. 

Predacious fishes feed almost entirely at night, only the 
hungry ones, perhaps, that do so during the day ; and though 
we often take fish with their stomachs full, they are evi- 
dently still on the feed, for such food is usually in a fresh 
or undigested condition, showing that it has been recently 
swallowed. 

Predacious fishes are more active during the night, and, 
I believe, rest or sleep during the day, while the smaller 
fishes, as minnows, etc., are more active during daylight; 
for it is not unlikely that they seclude themselves, or keep 
in very shallow water, during the night, to prevent their be- 
ing swallowed by their larger and piscivorous congeners. 

As predacious fishes then feed mostly by night, we would 
naturally expect to find them at that time where their food 
was most plentiful ; and this is really the case, for I have ob- 
served that they were always near the shores or on the shal- 
lows at night, in water so shallow, in fact, that their dorsal 
fins were often out of the water. Any one who will take 
the trouble to proceed cautiously along the shores at night, 
with a lantern, can verify this statement. 

It is well known that the last few hours of daylight are 
the best for fly-fishing, which I account for by the fact that 
the fish are then approaching the shallows and shores in 
their nightly search for food ; and as they only rise to the 



164 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

fly in comparatively shallow water, the conditions are thus 
more favorable for the fly-fisher. 

The hypothesis, then, that game fishes feed mostly at 
night and rest or sleep by day, and that it is only the few 
that failed to fully satisfy their appetites the night before 
that are apt to respond to the wiles of the angler, is quite 
a reasonable one, and one that will account for most of the 
" bad luck " of the angler. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE BLACK BASS AS A GAME FISH. 

Owing to my admiration for the Black Bass as a game 
fish, and my championship of its cause for many years, and 
my efforts to place it in the front rank of game fishes, and 
my desire to have it placed in new waters, I am sometimes, 
thoughtlessly and unjustly, accused of being opposed to the 
brook-trout, and of advising the stocking of trout-streams 
with my " favorite " fish. Nothing can be further from the 
truth. 

I am utterly opposed to the introduction of Black Bass 
into waters in which there is the remotest chance for the 
brook-trout or rainbow-trout to thrive. I yield to no one 
in love and admiration for the brook-trout. I was perfectly 
familiar with it before I ever saw a Black Bass ; but I 
am not so blinded by prejudice but that I can share that 
love with the Black Bass, which for several reasons is des- 
tined to become the favorite game-fish of America. "My 
offending hath this extent, no more." 

Let us look this thing squarely in the face. I do not 
wish to disturb any one's preference, but I do want to dis- 
abuse the minds of anglers of all prejudice in the matter. 
The brook-trout must go. It has already gone from many 
streams, and is fast disappearing from others. It is sad to 
contemplate the extinction of the " angler's pride" in pub- 
lic waters, but the stern fact remains that in this utilitarian 
age its days are numbered and its fate irrevocably sealed. 

(165) 



166 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

As the red man disappears before the tread of the white 
man, the " living arrow " of the mountain streams goes 
with him. 

The trout is essentially a creature of the pine forests. 
Its natural home is in waters shaded by pine, balsam, spruce 
and hemlock, where the cold mountain brooks retain their 
low temperature, and the air is redolent with balsamic fra- 
rance ; where the natural food of the trout is produced in 
the greatest abundance, and where its breeding grounds are 
undisturbed. 

But the iron has entered its soul. As the buffalo disap- 
pears before the iron horse, the brook-trout vanishes before 
the axe of the lumberman. As the giants of the forest are 
laid low, and the rank and file decimated, and the wooden 
walls of the streams battered down, the hot, fiery sun leaps 
through the breaches, disclosing the most secret recesses of 
forest and stream to the bright glare of mid-clay. The 
moisture of the earth is dissipated, the mosses and ferns 
become shriveled and dry, the wintergreen and partridge- 
berry, the ground pine and trailing arbutus struggle feebly 
for existence ; the waters decrease in size and increase in 
temperature, the conditions of the food supply and of the 
breeding grounds of the brook-trout are changed; it dete- 
riorates in size and numbers and vitality, until finally, in 
accordance with the immutable laws of nature and the great 
principle of the " survival of the fittest " (not the fittest 
from the angler's point of view, but the fittest to survive 
the changes and mutations consequent on the march of 
civilization), it disappears altogether. 

Much has been said about the " trout hog " in connec- 
tion with the decrease of the trout. But while he deserves 
all the odium and contempt heaped upon him by the honest 



THE BLACK BASS AS A GAME FISH. 167 

angler, the result would be the same were the trout allowed 
undisturbed and peaceable possession of the streams, so far 
as the fish-hook is concerned, while the axe of the lumber- 
man continues to ring its death knell. 

Let us, then, cherish and foster and protect the crimson- 
spotted favorite of our youthful days as long as possible in 
public waters, and introduce the rainbow-trout, or the Dolly 
Varden, or some of the Pacific black-spotted trout, or the 
English brown trout, when he has disappeared ; and when 
all these succumb, then, and not till then, introduce the 
Black Bass. But let us give these cousins of the brook 
trout a fair trial first, and without prejudice. There are 
plenty of lakes, ponds and large streams in the Eastern 
States into which the Black Bass can be introduced without 
interfering with trout-waters. 

For many years to come brook-trout will be artificially 
cultivated, and the supply thus kept up in preserved waters 
by wealthy angling clubs ; but by the alteration of the na- 
tural conditions of their existence they will gradually de- 
crease in size and quality, until finally they will either cease 
to be or degenerate to such a degree as to forfeit even this 
praiseworthy protection. 

I must dissent from the statement sometimes made that 
the Black Bass is the bluefish of fresh waters. The Black 
Bass is voracious — so are all game fishes — but not more so 
than the brook-trout. The character of a fish's teeth de- 
termines the nature of its food and the manner of its feed- 
ing. The bluefish has the most formidable array of teeth 
of any fish of its size — compressed, lancet-shaped, covered 
with enamel, and exceedingly strong and sharp, in fact, 
miniature shark teeth — while the Black Bass has soft, 
small, brush-like teeth, incapable of wounding, and intended 



168 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 5 

only for holding its prey, which is swallowed whole. The 
brook-trout has longer, stronger and sharper teeth than the 
Bass, and a large, long mouth, capable of swallowing a big- 
ger fish than a Black Bass of equal weight. The mouth of 
the Bass is very wide, for the purpose of taking in crawfish 
with their long and aggressive claws, and not, as supposed 
by some, for the swallowing of large fishes. The Black 
Bass gets the best of other game fishes, not by devouring 
the fishes themselves, but by devouring their food. For 
this reason, more than any other, they should not be intro- 
duced into the same waters with brook- trout. The pike or 
pickerel is the bluefish of fresh waters, and in dental ca- 
pacity and destructive possibilities is not far behind it. 

The brook-trout, I think, is the most beautiful of all 
fishes, as a fresh- run salmon is the handsomest and most 
perfect in form. The salmon is a king, the brook trout a 
courtier, but the Black Bass, in his virescent cuirass and 
spiny crest, is a doughty warrior whose prowess none can 
gainsay. 

I have fished for brook-trout in the wilds of Canada, 
where a dozen would rise at every cast of the fly, and it 
would be a scramble as to which should get it — great lusty 
trout, from a half pound to two pounds in weight — but the 
black fly made life a burden by day, and the mosquito by 
night. The glory and beauty of the madly rushing stream 
breaking wildly over the great black rocks, and the quiet, 
glassy pools below reflecting the green spires of spruce and 
fir, availed nothing to the swollen eyelids and smarting 
brow. 

I have cast from early morn till dewy eve, on a good sal- 
mon stream in New Brunswick, for three days in succession 
without a single rise. I have cast standing in a birch-bark 



THE BLACK BASS AS A GAME FISH. 169 

canoe until both arras and legs were weary with the strain, 
and then rested by casting while sitting — but all in vain. 
The swift-flowing, crystal stream reflected back the fierce 
glare of the northern sun, and flowed on in silence toward 
the sea. The fir-clad hills rose boldly on either side, and 
stood in silent, solemn grandeur — for neither note of bird 
nor hum of bee disturbed the painful silence of the Cana- 
dian woods. 

At such times would flash on memory's mirror many a 
fair scene of limpid* lake or rushing river, shadowed by 
cool, umbrageous trees, and vocal with myriads of voices — 
where the Black Bass rose responsive to the swish of the 
rod and dropping of the fly. Or, should the Bass be coy 
and shy, or loth to leave his lair beneath some root or shelv- 
ing rock — the melody of the birds, the tinkle of a cow-bell, 
the chirp of a cricket, the scudding of a squirrel, filled up 
the void and made full compensation. 

The true angler can find real pleasure in catching little 
sunfish, or silversides, if the stream and birds, and bees 
and butterflies do their part by him ; while the killing of 
large or many fish, even salmon or trout, in silence and 
solitude, may fail to fully satisfy him. 

I can find something beautiful or interesting in every fish 
that swims. I have an abiding affection for every one, from 
the lowly, naked bull-head, the humble scavenger of the 
waters, to the silver-spangled king who will not deign to 
soil his dainty lips with food during his sojourn in crystal 
streams, and I love the brook-trout best of all. But, as an 
angler, I can find more true enjoyment, more blessed peace, 
in wading some rushing, rocky stream, flecked by the shad- 
ows of overhanging elm and sycamore, while tossing the 
15 



170 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS„ 

silken gage to the knight in Lincoln-green, my ears con- 
scious of the rippling laughter of the merry stream, the 
joyous matin of the woodland thrush, the purring under- 
tone of the quivering leaves — my eyes catching glimpses 
of hill and meadow, wren and robin, bee and bittern, fern 
and flower, and my breath inhaling the sweet fragrance of 
upland clover and elder-blossom — I say I can find more 
true enjoyment in this — than paying court to the lordly 
salmon, or the lovely trout, in its stiff and silent demesne, 
with annointed face, gloved hands, and head swathed in 
gauze. If this be treason, my brother, make the most of it. 
I am content. It is my honest conviction. After killing 
every species of game-fish east of the Rocky Mountains, 
from Canada to Florida, and a few in foreign lands, I find 
the knightly Bass and his tourney-field all sufficient. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

FLY-FISHING. 

The literature of Black Bass fishing may truly be said to 
have been evolved during the past decade. Previous to this 
period very little mention was made of the two species of 
Black Bass by our angling authors, and that little was mis- 
leading, incorrect or glaringly false in most instances, and 
related, almost without exception, to bait fishing. Fly-fish- 
ing for Black Bass, although then practiced by a few ang- 
lers, was apparently unknown to writers on angling. In- 
deed, it was doubted by many, and denied by most anglers, 
that the Black Bass would rise to the artificial fly; but this, 
in my opinion, was due more to prejudice than to the result 
of actual experience, and viewed in the light of our present 
knowledge of the subject, this opinion is certainly strength- 
ened, if not confirmed. 

Up to that time the brook-trout was deservedly the pride 
and idol of the fly-fisher, and it was deemed heresy to cast 
the fly for any other fish, with the exception of the salmon. 
But while yielding to none in my love and admiration for 
the brook-trout, it is a pleasure for me to state that, in my 
opinion (based on a large experience), there are no waters 
inhabited by the Black Bass, large or small mouth, where 
it will not rise to the artificial fly at some season of the 
year, subject to certain states and conditions of the water, 
etc., and this is as much as can be said for the brook -trout, 
as all unprejudiced trout-fishers must admit. 



172 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

It is true that the Black Bass rises to the fly more freely 
and uniformly in some waters than in others, hut this fact 
holds good also as to the brook-trout. And likewise is it a 
truism, that the largest fish, trout or Bass, do not, as a rule, 
take the artificial fly. Those who wish to lure the finny 
giants must perforce use bait or the trolling-spoon. This 
is a damaging admission to our piscatorial pride, but can- 
dor compels us to acknowledge the correctness of it, though 
we may find some guilty consolation or quasi-satisfaction in 
exhibiting the huge piscine trophies to our admiring and 
credulous friends with the usual remark : " Caught on the 
fly!" 

Seriously, it is entirely unnecessary, at this late day, to 
argue that the Black Bass will or will not rise to the arti- 
ficial fly. The fact is now known to many anglers, and con- 
ceded by others, that the Black Bass is a game-fish of high 
degree, and when of equal weight is the peer of the brook 
trout or salmon in fighting qualities, when proper tackle is 
employed, and will rise to the fly under the same favorable 

conditions. 

Practical Hints. 

In order to be successful in fly-fishing for Black Bass, 
the angler must know the waters to be fished, or be pos- 
sessed of that knowledge of the haunts and habits of the 
Bass that is born only of much experience. He must 
know when and where the fish are to be found at the differ- 
ent seasons of the year ; when they frequent deep, and 
when shallow water, for it is love's labor lost to cast the fly 
on deep, still reaches of water. 

In stream-fishing, which is by far more preferable and 
enjoyable than lake or pond-fishing, it is only when the 
Bass are on the shallows or on the riffles that the fly-fisher 






FLY-FISHING. 173 

will fill his creel, and on lakes when they frequent reefs, 
shoals, bars, and the neighborhood of rushes and weed 
patches. These times are usually in the spring or early 
summer, and in autumn, for in midsummer the Bass retire 
to deep water, except in large, deep and cool lakes, when 
this season is often the best, as the water has then become 
of the right temperature to induce the fish to seek shallow 
feeding grounds. 

The habits of the brook-trout have been carefully studied 
by many generations of fly-fishers and naturalists, conse- 
quently the trout-fisher knows that during the summer 
months he will certainly find his quarry in the shallow 
streams, slowly but surely ascending toward their spawning 
grounds. He also knows that the big trout has a local 
habitation under some root, or rock, or hollow bank, which 
he holds by right of possession, and defends as bravely as 
ever knight of old his feudal stronghold. He knows, fur- 
thermore, that he would be considered daft to whip the 
deepest pools of exposed water, or the mid-surface of deep 
lakes or ponds. So, when the Bass-fisher knows the habits 
of the Bass as well, there will be less speculation as to 
whether or not he will rise to the fly. 

The stream should always be waded, if practicable, and 
fished with the current, for it follows that wherever the 
angler can wade, the water is about right in depth for fly- 
fishing. He should cast about him in a semi-circle, he 
being; at the center and his casts being the radii, like the 
spokes of a wheel ; then, lengthening his cast, he can de- 
scribe the arc of a larger circle, and so cover all the water 
within reach (within forty or fifty feet), giving preference, 
of course, to the likeliest spots, as the eddies of bowlders 
or half-submerged rocks, near logs, driftwood, .shoals, bars, 



174 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

and under overhanging bushes and hollow banks, and over 
the shallow pools above and below rapids and riffles. 

After casting, the flies should be roved, skittered or 
danced over the surface by jerky or tremulous movements, 
to imitate, as nearly as may be, a living fly, and then be 
allowed to sink several inches below the surface and float 
away like a drowned insect to the extreme length of the 
line. 

On lakes, where there is no current, the flies should also 
be permitted to sink over likely spots at almost every cast. 
Lakes or deep ponds should be fished from a boat, keeping 
in the deeper water and casting inshore on the bars, shoals, 
reefs or ledges, or along the edges of rushes or weed patches. 
Sometimes rushes or tall weeds grow in pretty deep water, 
but nevertheless the Bass will usually be found near or 
among them, and sometimes near or under floating logs or 
drift ; it is well to try all such places. 

It will be found that Bass rise to the fly more freely when 
the water is stirred or ruffled by a brisk breeze, and during 
the early morning hours and late in the evening ; about sun- 
set, or a little after, being the very best time on bright 
days. On cloudy days there is not much choice, as one 
hour is no more favorable than another, sunny days being 
always the best. 

The old rule of light-colored flies for dark days and to- 
ward evening, and dark flies for bright days, is a safe one 
to follow, the exceptions rather tending to prove the rule, 
which usually happen when the fish are well on the feed, 
and will take almost any fly offered ; thus it is frequently 
the case that dark flies will kill in the dusk of evening as 
well as the " Miller " or " Coachman.*' 

It only remains now to say to the reader, as I have often 



FLY-FISHING. 175 

said before, cast as skillfully as you can, but always delib- 
erately and carefully. Always keep a taut line ; strike 
quickly upon sight or touch, and play and land your fish in 
your own way, but get him in the creel as quickly as you 
can with safety to your tackle ; kill your fish outright be- 
fore putting him in your basket ; do not fish for count ; keep 
your temper ; and, above all things, remember first, last 
and all the time the most important rule in fly-fishing — 
keep out of sight of the fish if you would have him notice 
your flies. 

A Reminiscence. 

Toward the close of a day in the mild September, I was 
leisurely riding my tired mare across the ford of a narrow 
rocky river that wound around the foot of a thickly-wooded 
cliff, with here and there a pool in the shadow or a ripple in 
the sun, while stretching away a mile or two across the fer- 
tile bottom lands were fields of waving corn, fragrant clover, 
blue-grass and broad-leaved tobacco. 

Up the stream a hundred yards away, stood, leaning over 
the water, an old stone mill, whose lichen-covered walls and 
moss-grown roof proclaimed its hoary age. Its old wheel 
went rumbling on its merry round, mingling its regular, 
rhythmic plashing with the monotone of the tumbling, rush- 
ing waters of the dam. 

Down the stream another hundred yards, an old-time, 
covered bridge, decrepid and gray, spanned the little river, 
casting cool and dark shadows beneath and below. 

The sun was sinking low beyond the fields, flinging bars 
of yellow flame through the slender strips of fleecy clouds 
that stretched across the western portal of the steel-blue 
sky, lighting up the crimson of the newly-dyed sumach on 
the cliff, flashing on the foaming waters of the falls, and fes- 



176 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

tooning with golden streamers and silver ribbons the long, 
dank, green arms of the old water-wheel. 

Beneath the bridge a group of ruminating, sleek-coated 
cows stood whisking their tails in calm contentment, as the 
grateful stream laved their cloven feet and their breath ex- 
haled the odors of sweet cream, white clover and golden 
butter. 

As my mare drank deeply from the refreshing stream, I 
gazed upon the lovely scene, and thought that nowhere else 
in all the world but in this broad land of ours could such a 
a view be found. 

The sublime glories of the Alps ; the soft Italian skies ; 
the splendors of the Tropics ; the olive-crowned hills of 
Andalusia; the vine-clad slopes of the -Riviera — all alike 
paled before this calm and peaceful, soul-filling, heart-satis- 
fying, homelike scene. 

But what was fhat ? — a bar of silvery sheen flashed for a 
moment in the sun and dropped back into the eddy behind 
yon huge gray boulder under the cliff! I pretend to be 
surprised, but — pshaw ! how idle it is to attempt to deceive 
oneself. All the time that I was hollowly and falsely des- 
canting upon the matchless beauty of the stream and its 
surroundings, I, like an artful, double-tongued hypocrite, 
was watching for the very thing that occurred — the leap of 
a Bass ! 

Silently I rode my mare to the shade of the cliff, tied 
the reins to the convenient limb of a low-branching elm, 
unstrapped my umbrella from the saddle, and from its folds 
drew forth a fly-rod that had been artfully and surrepti 
tiously concealed there — another evidence of the insincer 
ity of man. 

From a corner of my pill-bags I brazenly took out a 



FLY-FISHING. 177 

buckskin bag, in which was a small click-reel with its line 
of enameled silk. From a pocket of my professional coat 
I brought to the light of day what, ostensibly, purported to 
be a prescription book, but in reality was a book of flies ! 

How guilty I felt ! What an arrant humbug I was ! But 
there was no time for moralizing — I just heard the splash 
of another Bass ! I soon had rod and reel, line and leader 
together, and a "polka" and a "professor" were soon 
dancing over the water together ! 

I had stepped from bowlder to bowlder, in the shadow of 
the cliff, until I had reached a vantage point at the foot and 
edge of the riffle, with the sun in my face and broken water 
all around me. I knew of half a dozen deep holes and 
sheltered eddies within the length of my cast, from which I 
would be completely hidden by two jagged rocks that rose 
in front of me, half as high as my head. 

Then like a guilty thing I began casting in ever-widening 
circles — all the time pretending to watch the play of the 
sunshine on the water, or the blackbird that was drinking 
at the verge of the stream. 

Then I saw a swirl behind the gray bowlder — but pre- 
tended to be listening to a squirrel barking at me from 
the projecting limb of a hickory, whose glossy, green leaves 
were just touched with the faintest suspicion of old gold. 

Then I made another cast as straight as the maple boll 
behind me. The flies dropped just over and beyond the 
smooth, gray bowlder, and as they were drawn into its eddy 
the " polka" disappeared, and something seemed to lift the 
water just there for an instant, and then — what a lively 
staccato to that kingfisher's rattle ! 

But, bless my soul ! it is my reel that is giving so merry 
a hum ! I must stop that. Then, as I follow the erratic 



178 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



flight of a dragon-fly across the stream, I can't help ob- 
serving my strained line cutting like mad through the water, 
and as I look up at a crow flying overhead I see that my 
rod is bent, and strained and twisted, and altogether there 
seems to be something unusual going on in the water, and 
as I look — out into the sunshine with bristling fins and red 
extended jaws there leaps a Bass ! 

Then I am kept busy leading my line away from jagged 
rocks in front, and can only do so by holding my rod at 
arm's length above my head. But now I have led the cap- 
tive into the deep pool below me, and near the cliff. Then 
I have leisure to look up at my squirrel, who, with a hick- 
ory nut in his paws is raining down the pieces of its hull 
in a green shower at the river's side, and— there leaps the 
Bass again !— and again ! Then again the singing of the 
reel as he dives to the depths of the pool. 

Ah ! listen to the allegro of the mocking-bird atop of 
yonder beech, as he begins his sunset sonata— the click of 
my reel a castinet accompaniment— and now, while slowly 
reeling in the line, the andante of the glorious songster is 
poured out on the quivering air— and then the trio— the 
bird and Bass and I— and last of all the finale, as I drop 
the butt of the rod and the reel into my coat pocket, and 
hug my vertical rod, while lifting out the spent warrior in 
green and silver sheen, and quickly dispatching him, toss 
him among the ferns at the foot of the hickory, to the great 
displeasure of my squirrel, who scolds and scampers away 
with the nut in his cheek. 

Then, filling my pipe, the blue smoke ascends in curling 
wreaths and is borne away up the face of the cliff on the 
soft evening air, while the tinkle of a cow-bell and the hoot 
of an owl comes from the direction of the old bridge. 



FLY-FISHING. 179 

But the sun is on the edge of the horizon, the fall is 
bathed in flame, the mill-wheel is hung with rubies, the be- 
lated crows caw loudly, and the " professor " and the 
"polka" are dancing on saffron and crimson foam to the 
strident strains of the cicada's fiddle. What, another rise ? 
Another Bass, perhaps ! No, it must have been a swallow 
dipping its wing. 

The gentle swish of the supple rod is music sweet as the 
" professor" and the "polka" follow each other, now in 
aerial flight, now along the shining water. Egad ! there' s 
no mistaking that tug ! The reel and the cicada now have 
it ! The line hisses through the water ! Look out for the 
sharp rock ! See that blundering bat ! Ah, what a leap ! 
— how he dashed the golden, crimson rain ! Again the 
duet — the shrill cicada and the buzzing reel ! He breaks 
again, again falls back I The rod is bending, surging 
through the air — and now the frogs pipe up — the sun is 
down — and, bless me ! here 's another Bass ! 

I step ashore, and string them on a willow wand. The 
mill-wheel has stopped; the water tumbles over the fall 
with a lonesome sound. The whippoorwill is calling from 
the cliff. The squirrel is in his nest. The mocking-bird 
has found his mate. The cows are lowing at the farmer's 
gate. My patient nag is neighing for her master. "All 
right, Jenny ! " 

I do not feel so guilty in the gloaming ; and as the first 
silent star appears, I stop at the little tumbledown gate 
before the cabin of " Old Dave," who " cot de rheumatiz in 
de fresh' las' spring." 

" Hello ! Aunt Judy. How 's Uncle Dave ? " 

" Howdy, Doctah ! Lor' bress you, honey, de ole man 's 
mitey po'ley — jist kin hobble roun', an' dat's all. He 



180 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



'lowed to 'gin cuttin' 'bacca fer Mars' Brack hex' week— 
but 'less he men's mitej fas' he won't cut more n a 'bacca 
wum kin chaw ! Don 't tink he 's long fer ole Kaintuck, 

no how ! " 

" Come here, Aunt Judy; here's two nice Bass for you— 
they '11 go nearly two pounds apiece. A gentleman fishing 
down at the river gave them to me as I came along. 
They '11 make a fine breakfast for you and Uncle Dave in 
the morning. Good night ! " 

And Jenny and I jogged along toward home, under the 
bright stars, at peace with all the world. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
CASTING THE MINNOW. 

The capabilities of the minnow-casting rod are equal to 
most of the possibilities of bait-fishing, as it has been my 
good fortune to prove on many occasions. To the unversed 
in the real art of angling it is simply wonderful to see what 
an amount of strain the little rod will successfully endure, 
and to witness the comparative ease with which exception- 
ably large fish are killed by one who knows the latent virtues 
of this little giant of a rod. 

Long ago, before every island boasted a summer cottage 
and a steam-launch, and when the Black Bass, or masca- 
longe, were to be found in almost every rock-bound, lily- 
fringed cove, the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence 
possessed attractions for the lover of* the beautiful and the 
angler that is hard to realize at the present day. 

Such a time I remember well; and one day of that hal- 
cyon period is marked on the calendar of memory by a pure 
white stone that sometimes, when the fit of retrospection is 
on, shines out vividly in the " hollow down by the flare " in 
the bright coal fire in the grate, or in the log fire in camp. 

It was below Grenadier Island, in the shallower portion 
of the river, along the edges of the rushes, deer- tongue and 
water-lilies, that a dear friend (poor Dick ! he is dead now) 
and I were casting the minnow for Black Bass. On that 
lovely July morning I killed, on an ash and lancewood, 

(181) 



182 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

eight-ounce rod, a mascalonge weighing thirty-two pounds, 
in twenty minutes. 

But, it is under the palms and live-oaks of Southern 
Florida that the angler is more likely to encounter finny 
giants that will test the strength and endurance of his tackle, 
and exercise to the full his stock of piscatorial skill and 
finesse. 

A few days after Christmas, in the winter of 1881, my 
wife and I were fishing in San Sebastian river (opposite 
Kane's cabin), a half mile above its confluence with Indian 
river. We had been up one of the branches of the river 
fishing for Black Bass, and I was using an eight-ounce, ash 
and lancewood Henshall rod, and ordinary Black Bass 
tackle. 

On this occasion, and with this rod and tackle, I killed a 
redfish, or channel Bass, in twenty minutes, that weighed 
fully thirty-five pounds, though, as I did not weigh it, I 
called it thirty. It was a heavier and gamer fish than the 
mascalonge alluded to above ; and, as I have weighed a 
good many redfish running from twenty to forty pounds, I 
can certainly guess within five pounds of the weight of one 
within these limits. 

I was casting the minnow for Black Bass, on another oc- 
casion, up the St. Lucie river, in Southern Florida, and 
with the same rod and tackle just mentioned I hooked, 
killed and landed a tarpon of thirty-three pounds, in fifteen 
minutes 

I have, with the same, or similar rods and tackle, killed 
many pike, mascalonge, tarpon, groupers, salt-water trout, 
etc., between ten and twenty pounds, but merely mention 
the above instances to prove the power of the minnow- 
casting Black Bass rod of eight ounces in weight and eight 



CASTING THE MINNOW. 183 

and a quarter feet in length, and this must be my excuse 
for alluding to them here. 

The introduction of this rod has no doubt done more than 
any thing else to popularize this style of fishing, and we 
may now consider minnow-casting as not only firmly es- 
tablished, but as an original and American method of ang- 
ling that is peculiarly adapted to bait-fishing in our varied 
and extensive waters. 

As an instance of its popularity I might add that, during 
the past five years, I have seen it employed in the waters 
tributary to the Red river of the North, in the Northern 
Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin, in nearly all the 
Provinces of Canada, and in Florida, and in many waters 
between. I have also seen it in numerous instances made 
to apply as well to estuary or coast fishing. 

While minnow-casting for Black Bass is the most popu- 
lar method in vogue in the West, it is very gratifying to 
me to see the favor with which it has been received in the 
Eastern States, and the remarkable progress that has been 
made in that best of all modes of bait-fishing; for it must 
be remembered that Black Bass fishing north of the Poto- 
mac and east of the Alleghany mountains is of compara- 
tively recent origin, as it has not been many years since the 
Black Bass was introduced into eastern waters. 

As a member of the Committee of Arrangements of the 
tournaments of the National Rod and Reel Association, I 
succeeded in having a special contest for " casting the 
minnow for Black Bass " admitted in the programme of 
events at the tournament of 1884, when the longest cast, 
with a half-ounce sinker, was made by Professor Alfred M. 
Mayer, the same being 97 feet. 

At the subsequent tournaments the casting continually 



184 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

improved, until at the last one, held in May, 1888, there 
were three gentlemen who cast upward of fifty yards ; and 
out of five casts made by Mr. A. F. Dresel, the successful 
competitor, three of them went beyond fifty yards, and one 
reached the extraordinary distance of 168 feet, 4 inches. 
The weight of sinker cast was one-half ounce. The rods 
used were about eight and a quarter feet long, and about 
nine ounces in weight. 



CHAPTER XXII r. 
STILL-FISHING. 

What angler's heart does not leap when he thinks of his 
boyish experiences in angling ! We were all " still-fishers " 
then. The boy who began fishing on a small trout stream, 
though, would not tarry long in one spot; he soon learned 
that he must be a roving fisherman to fill his string. 

But the boy who began on " sunnies," or red-eyes, or 
"brim," or gudgeons, or even bull-heads or suckers, im- 
bibed bis first lessons in the virtue of patience during his 
pin-feather days of angling. 

What finished, artistic fly-fisher but would gladly hark 
back to those golden days ! What a monument of patience 
he was, and what a fatalist as to luck, and what a firm be- 
liever in the secret, unwritten mysteries of the art, as he 
sat motionless on a rock, or perched upon a gnarled root, 
or lay prone upon a grassy bank, watching his float with all 
the eagerness and expectancy of a kingfisher on his dead 
branch, or an osprey on his cliff! 

And how well he knew every " hole,*' and every sub- 
merged rock, and every snag; and just "how deep" to 
place his float, and just how long to let it run before 
" yanking " the fish or his hook into the limb overhead, or 
into the bush behind him ! 

And how well he knew every muskrat's run, and every 
kingfisher's perch, and every bank-swallow's hole ; and, 
though watching his " cork " never so intently, how he had 
16 ( 185 ) 



186 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



an 



eye for every water-snake, and turtle, and bull-frog that 



mi ! 



stirred within ten rods of h 

And when an unlucky muskrat, or kingfisher, or snake, 
or turtle, or frog showed itself, how lie would lay a rock on 
the butt of his "pole," and start in quest of it; and how 
these mammalian forays, and ornithic sallies, and reptilian 
assaults would rest him; and with what renewed zest he 
would repair to his fishing, and with what consummate and 
enduring faith he would spit on his hook, and resume his 
waiting and watching ! 

Oh ! bright, sunny, golden days of youth ! How far- 
how very far we have traveled down the stream since then ! 
We may look back, and through the gaps in the trees, and 
over the low hills catch a sparkle of the stream behind and 
above us ; but, alas ! we can never go back— never return ! 
Our course is ever on, on— and down, down— and the stream 
is ever widening and growing deeper, until it will soon be 
lost in the great gulf of the unknown ! 

I have much sympathy, and great respect, if not down- 
right envy for the still-fisher. There is a juvenility, and a 
childish faith in his methods that are totally unknown, or 
utterly lost to the blase old hand at fly-fishing, or minnow- 
casting. 

His tastes are as simple, his expectations as great, his 
anticipations as easily satisfied, and his enjoyment as ample 
as in the pin-hook days of the best of us. He is, indeed, 
but a child of larger growth. 

^ His life may have been saddened with the experience of 
time— his hands hardened with years of toil— his heart 
seared with the inhumanity of man— but he still retains the 
innocence and freshness of his youth when seated at the 
waterside with the « peeled sapling » in his stiffened hands 



STILL FISHING. 187 

— the voice of the stream whispering in his ears — its moist 
breath stealing through his grizzled locks — and its rippling 
smile flashing on his tired eyes ! 

A Retrospection. 

An old negro house-servant and a bright-eyed, flaxen- 
haired boy of eight summers sat side by side under a mill- 
dam, fishing. The old man was engaged in earnest conver- 
sation, to which the lad was an eager listener, save when 
interrupted by the pulling out of a fish or the re-baiting of 
a hook : 

" Yas, Percy Lee, it's jist wasteful 'stravagance fer yo' 
papa to buy sich lavish, shiny fish-poles an' silver reel con- 
trapshuns dat run riot wid his money. All de fish in de 
Elkhorn wouldn't 'gin to pay intrust on 'em. He's de beat- 
enes' man for 'stravagance I eber see. 

" De bestes' fish-pole is de strettes' an' slimmes' ellum 
saplin' you kin fine ; cut in de fall in de lite ob de 
moon, an' peeled in de shade, an' put up in de lof ' nex' to 
de cabin chimbly all wintah. An' de Bass an' chan'l-cat 
won't know wedder it cos' two cents or de price ob a year- 
lin' mule, case you yank 'em out so quick dey ain't got 
time to tink 'bout it." 

" Yes, but Uncle Enoch, papa don't like to yank 'em out 
so quickly." 

"No, honey, an' dats' wat beats me. He jis' goes a- 
wadin' in de water — an' he'll done cotch his deff o' rheuma- 
tiz one ob dese days — a-whippin' his little shiny switch, an' 
a-flippin' his fiddle-string line wid little teenty fedder-flies, 
an' de Bass cotch holt, an' ben' an' twis' de little pole, an' 
run off wid de line — an' Mars' Dick wind 'em up agin, an' 
de Bass pull out de line agin, an' jump out to see wat 



188 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

gwine to happen nex', an' dey hav' mo' fun dan a bag full 
o' monkeys at de circus." 

"But papa says he used to fish with cane poles and min- 
nows, Uncle Enoch." 

" Yas, Percy Lee, wen Mars' Dick was a little lam', jis J 
like yo'self, he use' to sot in dis same place wid me, an' 
laws-o'marcy wat gorms o' Bass, an' new-lites', an' chan'l 
cats we use' to snek out ! But aft-a-wile he growed up an' 
den he marri'd Mis' Alice, an' dat quiled his fishin'. 

"An' den de wan cum on, an' yo' papa went away to fite 
wid de sogers, when yo' was a teenty little baby; an' Mis' 
Alice use' to cum heah a-fishin' wid me, an' Liza Jane wud 
brung de baby. But Mis' Alice nebber cud larn to fish ; 
she j is' kep' me a tellin' how yo' papa use' to fish when he 
was a little boy, an' wat he wud say, an' wat he wud do ; an' 
she'd des go an' sot on dat ole sycamo' root — whar you set- 
tin' now — whar he use' to fish ; an' de big tear-drops wud 
roll down her pink cheeks ebery time I cotch'd a fish, an' 
she wud run an' grab de baby — dat was you — an' hug you 
up, an' kiss you, and den want me to begin all ober agin. 
You see, honey, she was so chicken-hearted she cudn't bar 
to see de red-eyes an' new-lites a-floppin' on de hook. An' 
no matter how offen I. 'splained to her how Mars' Dick use' 
to ketch 'em, an' how I kech 'em, she des was too tender- 
minded to larn. 

" Den yo' papa cum home aftah de wah, an' brung a lot 
o' hinhfalutin noshuns wid him. An' de nex' summah a 
Yankee Kurnel from 'way up Norf cum a-visitin' an' he 
showed Mars' Dick how to fish wid switch poles an' fedder- 
flies. 

"An' now Mars' Dick drags Mis' Alice wid him, an' she 
goes trapesin 'long de sho' wid de baskit — an' she'll ketch 



STILL FISHING. 1°° 



her deff o' dampness sum day, you heah me— an' she watches 
him sling dem fedder-flies, an' claps her han's an' laffs, an 
sez : ' Good boy ; bravo, Dick !' 

"An' wen de Bass is tucker'd out Mars' Dick shuv a little 
roun' net under him, an' raps him on de hed, an' totes him 
ashore; an' den him an' Mis' Alice sot dar an' look at ,t, 
an' yo' papa smokes his pipe, an' he tell Mis' Alice bout 
de fish iis' like I use' to talk to him when he was a little 
lam' like yo' ownsclf ; an' dey spoon jis' as foolish as fo 
dey was marri'd. 

'"An' Mis' Alice she meks de fedder flies fer Mars Dick, 
now— she nebber did cotton to wums, an' craw-fish, an' 
orawl-debbils— an' she nebber cries now when de Bass snaps 
'em But, honey, he can't fool de chan'1-cat wi.l 'em ; no, 
mv vouno- marstah, Mistah chan'1-cat is too wise in dis 
generation ob vipers fer dat. He wants a fat soft craw or 
a piece of fresh libber. Gib him vict'ry or gib him deff. 

" Cum, honey, we dun got a good mess o' pan-fish, less 
be gwine home; Mistah Crow dun lite out fo' his roost 
long time ago.'' 



CHAPTER XXI Y. 

TROLLING. 



~1. - 



Three or four years ago I was attracted to Gogebic lake 
and Eagle waters in Northern Wisconsin to investigate the 
so-called "razor-back" Black Bass of Gogebic, and the 
mascalonge of Eagle waters. I found the former to be 
only small-mouthed Bass infected with tape worm, and the 
latter to be a true mascalonge. 

At that time Gogebic lake was somewhat famous on ac- 
count of its great numbers of Black Bass, and the ease with 
which they could be caught. While there I witnessed scenes 
and heard of acts (that may serve to point a moral) that 
should bring the blush of shame to the cheek of the most 
hardened ; and yet they were perpetrated by men calling 
themselves anglers, or at least fishermen, for there is a dif- 
ference in degree as well as in kind of those claiming alle- 
giance to the " gentle " art. 

On the first evening of my arrival I saw two large piles 
of Black Bass, enough to fill several barrels, burnt by the 
guides at the edge of the lake. Nine-tenths of them were 
caught with the hand-line and trolling-spoon by anglers- 
Heaven, save the mark !— who were fishing for count, or 
vying with each other as to who should bring in the greatest 
number. 

It is no excuse to say that the Bass were there to be 
caught, or that the parties knew no better. They would 
have resented warmly any imputation that they were other 
(190) 



TROLLING. 191 

than humane, conscientious sportsmen. I will give a scrap 
of conversation that I overheard on the hotel veranda that 
evening; the reader can then judge for himself and draw 
his own conclusions. 

"Well, old man, what luck to-day?" 

" Bully ! I took in out of the wet a hundred and twenty- 
five Bass, and would have had more but I lost all of my 
spoons. Then I went ashore and shot three or four ' por- 
kies ' with my pistol ! " 

Now here was a bloody-minded butcher who was not con- 
tent, with the help of his boatmen, with slaughtering over 
a hundred Bass with the spoon, but who had the effrontery 
and insolence to brag of it before gentlemen ; and to cap 
the climax of his truculence he boasted of shooting several 
innocent porcupines, a harmless, clumsy animal that can not 
get out of one's way, and whose only means of defense is 
to hump up its back and erect its quills ; an animal that a 
sportsman never thinks of molesting. 

" Pshaw ! " chimed in a young man, who with several 
companions had been camping down the lake for a week, 
" we shot nearly fifty in a week near our camp ; they 
gnawed the axe-handle and chewed up a pair or two of 
boots, and we started in to clean 'em out!" 

And these young men had probably time and again re- 
sponded to the commandment, " Thou shalt not kill," with 
" Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep 
this law." 

Now, I do not pose as a saint, or a Christian, or as an 
example, or as being any better than my fellows, for I am 
not — but I do hold that the wanton killing of the meanest 
creature is murder. At the same time, I can kill any ani- 
mal — mammal, bird or fish — with clean hands and with a 



192 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

clear conscience, when done in a sportsmanlike manner, and 
when I can utilize the same. 

I assure the reader that the scrap of conversation given 
above is a mild sample of what I actually heard that even- 
ing. Some boasted of killing even more Bass than the in- 
dividual mentioned, but I believe they added lying to their 
other accomplishments. 

Then there were grouse and deer killed out of season — 
does still in milk, and grouse-hens with half-grown broods — 
but enough; these men were what they seemed, mere pre- 
tenders to the name of angler or sportsman, such as one is 
apt to meet at any summer hotel where there is fishing or 
shooting; men who under the guise of innocent sport in- 
dulge their thirst for blood and murder ; men who are set 
and confirmed in their ways, and for whom there is no hope 
of improvement or reform. 

But there are a few new hands who do these things 
thoughtlessly, and by the force of bad example ; and it is 
for their benefit that I have written what might otherwise 
be deemed out of place, here. 



CHAPTEK XXV. 

SKITTERING AND BOBBING. 

Once, when in Florida, two of us had gone several miles 
up a river one clay for deer and turkeys. When the sun 
was nearly down we had one deer, and had located several 
more, and also had found a turkey-roost near by. We con- 
cluded, instead of returning down the river to camp, to 
build a fire and sleep under a tree, so as to be on the ground 
at daylight in the morning, with the strong probability of 
another deer or several turkeys. 

We did not wish to cut into the venison, as we intended 
to give it to a -cracker" family near our camp, the head 
of said household being down with" the shakes." We had 
only the liver of the deer for supper, and wishing to vary 
it with some other viand, concluded to try for a Black Bass 

in the river. 

Happening to have a fish-hook in my pocket, I cut ott a 
piece of the deer's tail, and made a " bob." Then, cutting 
a long, slender pole, and tying the bob to the end with a 
piece of strong twine some three feet long, we got into the 
boat, my comrade paddling and I manipulating the bob 

The sun was at the edge of the horizon, a huge ball ot 
crimson fire, the atmosphere being somewhat smoky from 
fires kindled by the Indians to burn off the old grass in 
order to make a fresh - burn " for the deer to feed on 

The river expanded just above into quite a shallow lake 
well grown with lily-pads, bonnets and saw-grass, through 
17 (198) 



194 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

which meandered several channels of open water. As we 
approached the lake, toward the sun, it seemed that these 
channels were filled with liquid fire, and the occasional 
leaping of a mullet, or dropping in of a small alligator, 
served to heighten this effect, and to simulate sparks and 
flames. The pure white wings of the egret, as it flitted 
over the water, seemed like miniature sails on a rubescent 
sea. 

As my companion noiselessly paddled the boat along the 
fringe of rank grasses and luxuriant aquatic vegetation, I 
danced the bob along and over the water, now low, now high 
and now dipping in the water — skimming, leaping and fly- 
ing — till it seemed an uncanny thing, as indeed it was, a 
cervine igiiis-fatuus, a hirsute will-o'-the-wisp. 

Several Bass rose to it, and swirled at it, until one more 
active than the rest grabbed it by a vicious lunge, and the 
hook was firmly implanted in his jaw. It was the work of 
but a minute to land him in the boat, and he was soon joined 
by another, when we repaired to our camp-fire which was 
now throwing a cheerful, ruddy light on the pines and pal- 
mettoes. 

This was one of the occasions when the " bob," or the 
skittering-spoon, or the trolling spoon may be legitimately 
used ; for we not only took great pleasure in the novelty of 
the sport, but we enjoyed a rich repast that night after, 
roasting the Bass in their scales in the hot ashes, broiling 
the deer's liver on a split stick, grilling a few crackers cf 
hard-tack, and making a cup of hot, strong coffee — leaving 
enough for a cold breakfast at daylight in the morning. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

CONCLUDING KEMARKS. 

If this book should be the means of making a single day 
happier in the life of any angler, or of making some 
crooked things straight to the young hand, or of saving the 
life of one Bass that might have been otherwise killed by 
illegitimate means or sacrificed to unworthy motives, I shall 
be glad that it is written ; for these considerations alone, 
and not for any personal profit or aggrandizement has it 
been penned. 

And though there have been rods, and reels, and lines, 
and other articles of tackle named for me by enthusiastic 
friends and admirers, the honor itself has been my only 
recompense, for I assure the reader that I have never re- 
ceived, and would scorn to accept, any pecuniae fee or re- 
ward for any thing devised by myself, or made prominent 
by my efforts, for Black Bass fishing. 

My sole aim and intention has been to elevate the Black 
Bass as a game-fish, and to provide suitable tackle for its 
pursuit and capture, and to inculcate a more healthful and 
humane and gentlemanly spirit among anglers. 

If I have succeeded, in the slightest degree, my work has 
proved, as Walton said of angling, " like virtue, a reward 
to itself." 

It is with a saddened heart, and an unwilling pen, that I 
now finish the concluding chapter of this supplement, for I 
feel that it is the last that will ever be added to this book. 

(195) 



196 SUPPLEMENT TO THE BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 

There is not much likelihood of there being any occasion 
for adding any thing more to its pages during my life, and 
it is not at all likely that any one will ever add any thing 
to it after I am gone. 

I feel like one who is making his last cast on a favorite 
pool that he will see no more forever. A pool that is en- 
deared to him by the fondest associations. A pool whose 
every ripple is a smile — whose every changing mood is a 
look of gladness and delight — and whose steadily flowing 
current seems to beckon him to follow to 

" The undiscovered country, from whose bourn 
No traveler returns." 






THE END. 



I^DEX 



-to- 



SCIENTIFIC HISTORY OF THE BLACK BASS. 



American Fishes in Linnsean Col- 
lection, 12. 
Arkansas, Black Bass of, 29. 
Bean, T. H., 12. 

Black Bass, Linne's specimens, 13. 
Black Bass of Arkansas, 29. 
Black Bass of Florida, 24, 29. 
Black Bass of Illinois, 24, 27. 
Black Bass of Mexico, 25. 
Black Bass of Mississippi, 24, 26. 
Black Bass of Texas, 24, 27, 29. 
Black Bass, Scientific History, 11. 
Black Bass, Type specimens. 13 
Bosc, M., 11. - 
Calliurus, 16. 
Cope, Edw. D., 29. 
Florida, Black Bass of, 24, 29. 
Garden, Alexander, 11, 12. 
Garden's specimens, 11. 
General and special features, 29. 
Generic characterizations, 15. 

Grystes Guntber, 15. 
Iluro Gunther, 15. 
Micropterus Cope, 16. 

Micropterus Gill, 17. 
Micropterus Jordan, 16. 

Genus Micropterus, 15. 



Geographical variation, 29. 

Grystes, 15. 

Grystes salmoides, 22. 

Grystes salmonides, 15. 

Huro, 15. 

Huro nigricans, 16. 

Illinois, Black Bass of, 24, 27. 

Jordan, D. S., 14, 20. 

Labraces, 16. 

Labrus, 13. 

Lacepede, 11, 12. 

Lacepede's type specimens, 13. 

Le Sueur's specimens, 14. 

Linnaeus, 11, 12. 

Linne's specimens, 13. 

Longworth, N., 14. 

Mexico, Black Bass of, 25. 

Micropterus, 15, 16, 17. 

Micropterus dolomiei, 18, 20, 21. 

Micropterus dolomieu, 11, 13, 16, 

17, 18, 19,20,21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 

27, 28. 
Micropterus dolomieu, Lac, syn. 

onomy of, 17. 
Micropterus floridanus, 24. 
Micropterus nigricans, 19, 24. 
(197) 



198 



INDEX TO SCIENTIFIC HISTORY. 



Micropterus pallidus, 24, 25. 
Micropterus salmoides (Lac.) Gill, 

17, 19, 24. 
Micropterus salmoides (Lac.) 

Henshall, 11, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 

27. 
Micropterus salmoides (Lac.) 

Henshall, synonomy of, 22. 
Micropterus salmonides, 24. 
Micropterus, synonomy of, 15. 
Milbert's specimens, 13. 
Mioplosus, 16. 

Mississippi, Black Bass of, 24, 26. 
Morphology, 15. 
Murie, Wm, 12. 
Nomenclature, 15. 
Oswego Bass, 21. 
Scientific History of Black Bass, 

11. 
Special features, 29. 
Specific descriptions of M. dolo- 

mieu, Lac. 

Micropterus dolomiei Bean, 20. 

Micropterus dolomiei Forbes, 20. 

Micropterus dolomiei Goode, 20,21. 

Micropterus dolomieu Gill, 21. 

Micropterus dolomieu Jordan, 20, 22. 

Micropterus dolomieu Jordan & Ever- 
mann, 21. 

Micropterus dolomieu Jordan & Gil- 
bert, 19. 



Micropterus dolomieu Mather, 21. 
Micropterus salmoides Cope, 19. 
Micropterus salmoides Nelson, 19. 

Specific descriptions of M. salmoi- 
des (Lac.) Henshall, 24. 

3Iicropterus floridanus Cope, 24. 

Micropterus nigricans Nelson, 24. 

Micropterus pallidus Cope, 25. 

Micropterus pallidus Hay, 24. 

Micropterus salmoides Bean, 26. 

Micropterus salmoides Forbes, 27. 

Micropterus salmoides Gill, 27. 

Micropterus salmoides Goode, 26. 

Micropterus salmoides Hay, 26. 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan, 26, 27. 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan & Ever- 
mami, 27. 

Micropterus salmoides Jordan & Gil- 
bert, 25, 27. 

Specimens, Lacepede's, 13. 

Specimens, Le Sueur's, 14. 

Specimens, Linne's, 13. 

Specimens, Milbert's, 13. 

Specimens, Type, 13. 

Synonomy of M. dolomieu, Lac, 

17. 
Synonomy of M. salmoides (Lac ) 

Henshall, 22. 
Synonomy of Micropterus, 15. 
Texas, Black Bass of, 24, 27, 29. 
Type specimens, 13. 



INDEX TO LIFE HISTORY AND ANGLING. 



Adjustable fly-spoon, 127. 
Advice to tyro, 1 75. 
Air-bladder of fishes, 60. 
American silk-worm, 105, 108. 
Angler, genuine. 159 
Angler's pliers, 146. 
Angler, the true, 169. 
Angling of boyhood, 185. 
Angling, optics of, 57. 
Angling, philosophy of, 159. 
Angling, sermon on, 160. 
Arnold's experience in Bass-cult- 
ure, 48. 
A reminiscence, 175. 
A retrospection, 187. 
Artificial flies, 119. 
Artificial flies, rules for, 174. 
Artificial minnows, 127. 
Artificial mouse, 128. 
Bait-fishing, lines for, 103. 
Baits, artificial, 125. 
Baits, natural, 129. 
Bethabara Henshall rod, 79. 
Biting of fish, 162. 
Black Bass as a food-fish, 47. 
Black Bass as a game-fish, 47. 
Black Bass butchers, 191. 
Black Bass, coloration, 39. 
Black Bass, distribution, 41. 
Black Bass, eggs of, 48. 



Black Bass fishing, literature of, 

171. 
Black Bass fishing, pleasures of, 

169. 
Black Bass, food of, 45. 
Black Bass for stocking waters, 47. 
Black Bass, habitat of, 41. 
Black Bass, habits of, 48. 
Black Bass in brackish water, 44. 
Black Bass in confined waters, 46. 
Black Bass not piscivorous, 45. 
Black Bass, objections against, 45. 
Black Bass of Arkansas, 29. 
Black Bass of Florida, 53. 
Black Bass of Texas, 29. 
Black Bass ponds, 48. 
Black Bass, teeth of, 167. 
Black Bass, voracity of, 167. 
Boat, canvas, 153. 
Boats, fishing, 149. 
Bobbing in Florida, 193. 
Books, fly, 131. 
Books, tackle, 138. 
Box, leader, 139. 
Braided lines, 101. 
Brook trout, extinction of, 165. 
Brook trout, stocking waters with, 

167. 
Brush heaps, nests on, 50. 
Buckets, minnow, 145. 

(199) 



200 



INDEX TO LIFE HISTORY. 



Burning Black Bass, 190. 

Cable-laid line, 102. 

Canvas boat, 153. 

Capabilities of Hen shall rod, 181. 

"Capelin" phantom, 127. 

Casting the fly, 173. 

Casting the minnow, 181. 

Cause of decrease of trout, 166. 

Cecropia silk-worm, 107. 

Cells, pigment, 40. 

Change of coloration, 40. 

Character of waters, 43. 

Chinese silk-worm, 105. 

Chubs, 129. 

Clarke, 8. C, on comparative 
gameness, 34. 

Click in reels, 88. 

Click reels, 91. 

Climatic influences, 43. 

Coloration of Black Bass, 39. 

Coloration of sea trout, 39. 

Color of leaders, 110. 

Comparison of game qualities, 29. 

Concluding remarks, 195. 

Conditions governing biting, 162. 

Construction of fly-rods, 83. 

Construction of Henshall rod, 71. 

Construction of leaders, 111. 

Cross-bars, 90. 

Cylindrical ferrules, 77. 

"Cyrtonyx" on comparative game- 
ness, 35. 

Decrease of brook trout, 166. 

Dimensions of Henshall rod, 71. 

Discomforts of^ trout fishing, 168. 

Disgorgers, 143. 

Disgorger, Foard's, 143. 

Disgorger, Mills', 143. 



Disgorger, Shipley's, 143. 

Distribution, geographical, 41. 

Dowel-mortise joint, 75. 

Drag in reels, 88. 

Drawing silk-worm gut, 106. 

" Dubuque " on comparative game- 
ness, 33. 

Eagle Waters, 190. 

Ear of fishes, 59. 

" E. F." on comparative game- 
ness, 37. 

Eggs of American silk-worm, 108. 

Eggs of Black Bass, 48. 

Eggs of cecropia silk-worm, 107. 

Enameled line, 101. 

England, Black Bass in, 63. 

England, angling novelties in, 115. 

"Eureka" fishing-boat, 151. 

Experience with rod-joints, 76. 

Experiments with leaders, 108. 

Extinction of brook trout, 165. 

Extraordinary minnow - casting, 
184. 

Eyed hooks, 114. 

Feeding of fish, 163. 

Ferrules, 77. 

Fish, biting of, 162. 

Fishes, air-bladder of, 60. 

Fishes, ear of, 59. 

Fishes, feeding of, 163. 

Fish-hooks, 114. 

Fishing boats, 149. 

Fishing boat, " Eureka," 151. 

Fishing boat, Osgood's, 153. 

Fishing for count 159. 

Fishing, fly, 171. 

Fishing lines, 101. 

Fishing reels, 88. 






INDEX TO LIFE HISTORY. 



201 



Fishing rods, 69. 

Fishing rods, steel, 86. 

Flies, artificial, 119. 

Flies, general, 121. 

Flies, Henshall's, 121. 

Flies, killing, 119. 

Flies, table of, 120. 

Floating minnow-bucket, 145. 

Florida Black Bass, 53. 

Florida, bobbing in, 193. 

Florida, large Bass of, 53. 

Floridian waters, 44. 

Fluttering fly, 122. 

Fly-books, 131. 

Fly-book, "Bray," 131. 

Fly-book, Chubb's, 1 35. 

Fly-book, Conroy's, 133. 

Fly-book, " Endicott," 137. 

Fly-book, " Levison," 137. 

Fly-book, Shipley's, 133. 

Fly-casting on lakes, 174. 

Fly-fishing, 171. 

Fly-fishing, lines for, 103. 

Fly-fishing, practical hints, 172. 

Fly-fishing, time for, 174. 

Fly, fluttering, 122. 

Fly, Golden Dustman, 122. 

Fly, Mayer's, 122. 

Fly-rods, 83. 

Fly-rod, Chubb's, 82. 

Fly-rod, construction of, 83. 

Fly-rod, Henshall, 85. 

Fly-rod, Or vis', 82. 

Fly-rod, Shipley's, 82. 

Fly-rod, specifications for, 85. 

Fly-spoon, adjustable, 127. 

Food and growth, 51. 

Food fish, Black Bass as, 47. 



Food of Black Bass, 45. 

Food of large-mouthed Bass, 51. 

Food of small-mouthed Bass, 52. 

Forbes on food, 45, 51. 

Game fish, Black Bass as a, 47, 165. 

Game qualities, 30. 

Gangs, should not be used, 126. 

General and special features, 29. 

Geographical distribution, 41. 

Geographical variation, 29. 

Germany, Black Bass in, 63. 

Gogebic lake, 190. 

Golden Dustman fly, 1 22. 

Grip of Henshall rod, 72. 

Growth of Black Bass, 51. 

Gut, drawing of, 106. 

Gut, silk-worm, 105. 

Habitat of Black Bass, 41. 

Habits of Black Bass, 48. 

Habits of brook trout, 173. 

Hammered spoons, 126. 

Handle of Henshall rod, 73. 

Hatching of Black Bass, 48. 

Hearing, 58. 

Heavy large-mouthed Bass, 53. 

Heavy small-mouthed Bass, 52. 

Henshall fly-rod, 85. 

Henshall rod, grip of, 72. 

Henshall rod, standard, 71. 

Henshall's flies, 121. 

Henshall- Van Antwerp reel, 95. 

Hibernation, 54. 

Holder for rod, 147. 

Hooks, 114. 

Hook and tackle book, 138. 

Hook extractors, 143. 

Hooks, eyed, 114. 

Hooks, numbering of, 115. 



202 



INDEX TO LIFE HISTORY. 



Hooks, snelling of, 116. 

Hooks, tying, 1 16. 

Implements, miscellaneous, 131. 

Intelligence, 56. 

Invisible knot, 117. 

Ira Wood on comparative game- 
ness, 33. 

Joint, dowel-mortise, 75. 

Joint, non-dowel, 74. 

Kentucky reel, 89. 

Killing flies, 119. 

" Kingfisher " on comparative 
gameness, 3'2. 

Knot, invisible, 1 17. 

" Lambert" on comparative game- 
ness, 36. 

Lancewood Henshall rod, 78, 81. 

Landing-nets, 14 1. 

Landing-net, Bailey's, 141. 

Landing-net, "Dorsal Fin" 141. 

Landing-net, Orvis', 141. 

Leaders, 108. 

Leader-boxes, 139. 

Leaders, color of, 108. 

Leaders, construction of, 111. 

Leaders, experiments with, 108. 

Leaders, testing, 112. 

Length of snells, 112. 

Lines, bait, 101. 

Lines, fishing, 101. 

Lines, fly, 103. 

Lines, Hall Company's, 101. 

Lines, metal-center, 103. 

Lines, waterproof, 102. 

Literature of Black Bass fishing, 
171. 

Loops of leaders, 111. 

Manner of spawning, 49. 



Mascalonge on Henshall rod, 182. 
Mather on comparative gameness, 

31. 
Metal-center line, 103. 
Metal reel-seats, 90. 
Minnow-buckets, 145. 
Minnow-bucket, "Acme," 145. 
Minnow-bucket, Rudolph's, 145 
Minnow-bucket, Shipley's, 145. 
Minnow-casting, 183. 
Minnow-casting lines, 101. 
Minnow, casting the, J81. 
Minnow-pocket, 146. 
Minnow-rod, capabilities of, 181. 
Minnows, 129. 
Minnows, artificial, 127. 
Miscellaneous implements, 131. 
Mouse, artificial, 128. 
Mouse, trout rising to, 128. 
Multiplying reels, 95. 
Murderous sportsmen, 192. 
Natural baits, 129. 
Negro philosophy, 187. 
Nests on brush-heaps, 50. 
Netherlands, Black Bass in, 64. 
New England a zoological island, 

42. 
Non-dowel joint, 74. 
Numbering fish-hooks, 115. 
Objections against Black Bass, 45. 
"Opinicon ' on comparative game. 

ness, 32. 
Optics of angling, 57. 
Organ of hearing, 60. 
Original habitat, 43. 
Pearl spoon, 127. 
Philosophy of Angling, 159. 
Pigment cells, 40. 



INDEX TO LIFE HISTORY. 



203 



Platysamia ceeropia, 107. 

Pleasures of Bass-fishing, 1G9. 

Pliers, angler's, 146. 

Ponds for Black Bass, 48. 

Portable boats, 153. 

Pot-fishers, 159. 

Practical hints on fly-fishing, 172. 

Predominating colors of flies, 120, 

Preservation of trout streams, 107, 

Propagation of Black Bass, 48. 

Qualities, game, 30. 

Razor-back Black Bass, 190. 

Redfish on Henshall rod, 182. 

Reels, 88. 

Reels, click, 91. 

Reels, multiplying, 95. 

Reel, Chubb's click, 91. 

Reel-groove, 90. 

Reel, Henshall-Van Antwerp, 95. 

Reel, " Imbrie," 98. 

Reel, " Imperial," 99. 

Reel, Kentucky, 89. 

Reel-line, bait, 101. 

Reel-line, fly, 103. 

Reel, Mills' automatic click, 93. 

Reel-plates, 90. 

Reel-seats, 90. 

Reel, "Silver King," 98. 

Reel, Snyder's, 97. 

Remarks, concluding, 195. 

Reminiscence, a, 175. 

Retrospection, a, 187. 

Rising to the fly, 172. 

Rivers in Florida, 44. 

* Rob Roy" on comparative game- 

ness, 36. 
Rod. Henshall, Abbey & Imbrie's, 

70, 81 



Rod, Henshall, Chubb's, 78. 

Rod, Henshall, Leonard's, 81. 

Rod, Henshall, Orvis', 78. 

Rod, Henshall, Shipley's, 79. 

Rod, Henshall, Spalding's, 79. 

Rod, Henshall, standard, 71. 

Rod holder, 147. 

Rods, fishing, 69. 

Rods, fly, 83. 

Rods, improvements in, 69. 

Rods of steel, 86. 

Rules for flies, 174. 

Salmon fishing, vicissitudes of,168. 

"Salmon Roe" on comparative 

gameness, 34. 
•Salt water. Black Bass in, 44. 

Scotland, Black Bass in, 65. 

Sense of hearing, 58. 
Sense of sight, 56. 
Sermon on angling, 160. 
Shiners, 129. 
Shoes, wading, 148. 
Sight of fishes, 56. 
Silk-worm, American, 105, 107. 
Silk-worm, Chinese, 105. 
Silk-worm gut, 105. 
Skittering and bobbing, 193. 
Small-mouthed Bass, food of, 52. 
SnelJing hooks, 116. 
Snells, 112. 
Snells, length of, 112. 
Snoods, 112. 

Spawning, manner of, 49. 
Special senses, 56. 
Specifications for fly-rod, -85. 
Specifications for Henshall rod, 71. 
Split-bamboo Henshall rod, 78, 79, 
81. 



204 



INDEX TO LIFE HISTORY. 



Spoon, pearl, 127. 
Spoons, hammered, 126. 
Spoons, trolling, 126. 
Standard Henshall rod, 71. 
Steel fishing rods, 86. 
Still-fishing, 185. 
Stocking inland waters, 62. 
Stocking waters with Black Bass, 

47. 
Stocking waters with brook trout, 

167. 
Table of flies, 120. 
Tackle-book, 138. 
Tarpon on Henshall rod, 182. 
Teeth of Black Bass, 167. 
Telea polyphemus, 108. 
Testing leaders, 1 12. 
Time for fly-fishing, 174. 
Tools and tackle, 67. 
Transportation of Black Bass, 62. 
Triple hooks an abomination, 126. 



Trolling, 190. 

Trolling spoons, legitimate use of, 
125. 

Trolling spoons, many forms of, 
125. 

Trolling spoons, single hook for, 
126. 

Trout fishing, discomforts of, 168. 

Trout rising to mouse, 128. 

Trout streams, decrease of, 166. 

True angler, 169. 

Tying hooks, 116. 

Universal use of Henshall rod, 183. 

Von dem Borne on game quali- 
ties, 30. 

Wading-shoes, 148. 

Wading the stream, 173. 

Waterproof lines, 102. 

Waters, on stocking, 62. 

Zoological island, New England a, 
42. 



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